Generally speaking, a freelancer is a self-employed individual who is not necessarily committed to a particular employer for the long term. Rather, an employer may temporarily contract them to produce a certain project, or any other job function missing in the employer’s current workforce. So once such a project is completed and a freelancer and employer inevitably part ways, it is curious to think of who possesses the intellectual property rights in the case. If you find yourself in a similar predicament, please continue reading to learn how freelancers might have intellectual property rights and how an experienced New Jersey copyright lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can help you protect these given rights.
How might freelancers possibly have intellectual property rights?
Since a freelancer creates an original work in the first place, they hold the copyright rights to it. Meaning, they have the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and display their original work in any way they desire. Under United States Copyright Law, these rights may last for the freelancer’s lifetime plus 70 years.
Importantly, though, the exception to this is if a freelancer and an employer entered a written contract that states otherwise. That is, before temporarily contracting a freelancer, an employer may have them sign a legally binding agreement that covers a transfer of ownership. This may read something along the lines of, a freelancer must transfer their ownership rights over the piece of original work once it is created to completion.
What can freelancers do to protect these given rights?
With that being said, as a freelancer, you should not start work on any project for an employer until you thoroughly read and mindfully sign a written contract. If you wish to protect your given copyright rights for the long term, you must look out for a clause that states you are simply licensing your original work for limited use. This is so you may maintain full control over your original work, as a transfer of ownership should never take place. With this, as an example, if you create a graphic design logo for an employer, they may utilize it for their brand or business for the given amount of time specified in the contract. But once this time expires, you may take this logo back and sell it to another interested party.
Therefore, any clause that states you are selling your intellectual property rights entirely to an employer should raise a red flag. Unfortunately, clauses are usually not written as clearly as what was described above. For this reason alone, we strongly urge you to share a copy of this contract with a lawyer before you put pen to paper.
In conclusion, as a freelancer seeking intellectual property protection, there is no one better you can turn to than a skilled Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer from our firm. So please, call us at The Ingber Law Firm as soon as possible.
