IP Ownership & Assignment Review Checklist

This checklist is for founders, agencies, and product companies who commission work from freelancers and vendors and want to confirm they actually own what they pay for. Under default copyright law, the creator owns the work unless the contract transfers it in writing — so the ownership terms deserve a deliberate read before signature.

The checklist walks through the five points that decide ownership: the assignment clause itself, the work-made-for-hire backstop, present-transfer versus promise-to-assign language, the further-assurances and moral-rights terms, and the carve-out and disclosure of pre-existing and open-source components.

It is a practical review document, not a substitute for legal advice. For work that becomes part of your product, brand, or balance sheet, pair it with attorney review of the actual contract.

What the PDF covers

• Whether the contract contains an explicit IP assignment at all.
• Whether work-for-hire language is backed by a present assignment.
• Present-transfer wording (“hereby assigns”) versus a future promise.
• Further-assurances, power-of-attorney, and moral-rights terms.
• Carve-out and disclosure of pre-existing and open-source IP.

For the structural background, see 5 IP Ownership Traps That Cost Florida Businesses Their Own Work Product. For the step-by-step drafting order, see the firm's guide to assigning IP ownership in a contract. To have a contract reviewed by counsel, the firm's flat-fee Contract Review covers the assignment, work-for-hire, and further-assurances terms on a 48-hour turnaround.