Freelancer, agency, contractor: who owns the creation?

It is one of the most common misunderstandings: a client who pays for a logo, a website or an illustration thinks they own it. Under French law, this is not automatic.

The principle: the author remains the owner

Copyright belongs to the person who created the work. Producing it on commission, under a service contract, does not change this (article L111-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). Without a written assignment (a contract that transfers the rights), the freelancer, agency or contractor remains the rights holder, and the client has at best a limited right of use.

The assignment must be written and precise

To transfer the rights, the contract must mention each assigned right separately (reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation), and define its scope, purpose, duration and territory (article L131-3). A vague clause such as "all rights assigned" may be held insufficient.

A blanket assignment of future works is void (article L131-1): you cannot assign in advance everything a contractor will ever create. Each work must therefore be covered by an assignment.

The exceptions

Software created by an employee in the course of their duties belongs to the employer (article L113-9). A collective work, created on the initiative of a person who discloses it under their name and in which the contributions merge, belongs to that person (article L113-5). Outside these cases, even an employee remains, in principle, the owner of their creations, unless there is a suitable clause.

If you are the client

Provide for the assignment in the signed contract or quote, before the work starts. Date each deliverable you receive: you will be able to prove what was handed over, and when. This is systematically checked during a fundraising round or an acquisition.

If you are the contractor

Date your working ideas, proposals and successive versions, including those the client did not select. Until the assignment is signed, they remain yours, and you will be able to prove authorship if they are reused without agreement.

This article is for general information purposes and does not replace the advice of a legal professional.

To go further: the NDA and contracts use case and our offer for creators.