Legal Question in Technology Law in Alabama

Re: Web page content and Logo

You appear to have touched on the complex area of copyright law known as a "work made for hire." Perhaps a good place for you to start is to see what the Copyright Office has to say, in http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ9.html.

As you will see from the Circular, this should have been expressly stated in the agreement but, since you say that the contract is silent, the creator could take the position that they, and not you, are the author and own the copyright. On the other hand, since it would be silly for you to pay someone to create a web page and logo for you that you could not use without their permission, you should consider speaking to an attorney about your rights to obligate them to convey all rights to you, as something that is clearly implicit in the agreement. For example, if the logo and web page embody your trademarks, they would not be able to use them without infringing your marks.

In short, there is not a clear answer here, and you will want to act promptly to clarify your rights. Make sure that whatever rights you do have are secure, such as by registering any trademarks used in the page or logo, registering the logo itself as a mark, and even registering the web page as a copyrighted work, assuming you conclude that you are the author. Registration alone is not determinative, but it will strengthen your hand, and they would not look good arguing to a court that they own "your" web page and logo that you paid them to create. Also consider whether they created these based on materials you provided, and if so, save them. That is, if you created a rough draft, you are the author of those drafts, and their work is a derivative work.

If they take the position that they own the rights in the logo or web page, explore with your lawyer all angles, not just copyrights and trademarks. There are other legal doctrines that, depending on the precise facts and the law of your state, could also be of aid, such as equitable estopple, implied contract terms, fraud, and so on. But if this work product is important to you, I recommend you take steps to clarify your rights early on, and not wait until you have invested more time and money in developing the value of the logo and your web presence.

Good luck.