How do I make sure that freelancer cannot claim intellectual property rights for an asset?

Question

I want to get a logo created from a freelance designer. At this moment he is not aware of the actual client/website for which he has to create the logo. I am the go between that will get the work done for this client. Once the logo is created and it goes live can the freelancer claim IP rights for that logo? What steps should be followed before assigning this work to him so that not to face any trouble later?

or

Answers: 2 public & 0 private

Steven weinrieb
Patent Attorney

Draft a contract which effectively states what he is to do, that is, design a particular logo per your design objectives, and also include a clause which clearly states that he has no rights to the logo that he creates in accordance with your specifications. In law school, we always studied cases where party A understood one thing whereas party B understood another thing, and it always came down to the fact that if they had had a written contract specifically stating what the contract was, they never would have wound up in court.

Recent questions