When you hire an agency or freelancer to design and develop a website, who owns the site, you or the developer?
You might be surprised that a contractor or agency could claim ownership of your website design and implementation.
That’s because, under US copyright law, the creator can claim certain rights over the website design and code just as a painter has rights to their paintings.
In order to protect your rights as an owner, you and the contractor need to establish and sign a work for hire agreement or a copyright assignment agreement.
If you do not, a contractor claiming ownership could hold your site for ransom if your relationship ever sours.
