Logo ownership?

Question

this might be a dumb question, but something just happened to make unsure. say you own a small business. and you hire some freelance to design a logo for you. and you pay him for his work.

once i pay him, does that legally mean i own the logo and the freelance has absolutely no claim to it???

Answer 1

This is not a dumb question as a lot of companies have had this problem and become unstuck because of it.

It all depends on how the freelancer was employed and what the terms a conditions of the contract between you and him(her) were at the time of the request for their services being made.

In the simplest sense once you have paid for their services the ownership of the logo should pass to you, however make sure there are no clauses and conditions in the contract relating to the copyright, use and reproduction of the logo. If in any doubt please consult your solicitor/lawyer for the full facts.

As to the other part of the question as to what makes a good logo, you should go for something that is clear has a strong colour combination (yellow on black for example) and most of all recognisable as yours (just think of the qualities a logo like pepsi or microsoft have and what makes them work)

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

No technically he owns the logo. I would draft a contract that gives ownership of the logo to you, but still gives him the right to use it as an example of his work. A good logo is one that is appealing to your market. If you own a coffee shop named dark bean then a logo with a pirate ship probably isnt the best option. Replacing the a in bean with a really dark coffee bean is a better idea. Hope this helps.