Answer
Who owns the IP in your company
Does my company own the IP its founders, staff and freelancers created?
Not automatically. The Intellectual Property Office says an employer is usually the first owner of copyright in work an employee makes in the course of their job. A freelancer or agency usually keeps the copyright unless a written agreement says otherwise. Investors ask for the agreements that show the company owns what it sells.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Written by HAM Agency.
"We own our IP" is one line in a deck. Behind it there has to be paper: who made the thing, on what terms, and how it reached the company.
Who owns it to begin with
Copyright covers most of what a young company makes: software, web content, databases, writing, illustration and photography. GOV.UK says the protection is automatic. Nobody applies for it, and the UK has no register of copyright works.
So there's nothing to look up. Ownership depends on who made the work and what was agreed.
| Who made it | Who usually owns the copyright first |
|---|---|
| An employee, in the course of their job | The employer, unless something else was agreed |
| A freelancer or contractor | The freelancer, unless the contract says otherwise |
| An agency or studio you commissioned | The agency, unless you agreed otherwise in writing |
| A founder, before the company existed | The founder, as the person who created it |
The first three rows are the Intellectual Property Office's own guidance. The fourth follows from it: the creator is usually the first owner, and a company that didn't exist yet wasn't anybody's employer.
A licence is not ownership
The Intellectual Property Office says that where a commissioning contract doesn't deal with copyright, a court may find an implied licence that lets you use the work for the purpose it was commissioned for. That doesn't necessarily pass ownership to you. You may hold only a limited, non-exclusive licence.
A company that can use its own product but doesn't own it is a different company from the one in the deck.
Moving ownership to the company
GOV.UK says a sale or transfer of copyright needs a written, signed document, sometimes called an assignment. Collaborators can also agree in advance that one person or body will own what they make together.
That's the document a reader looks for when a founder wrote the first version before incorporation, or when an agency built the brand.
What is on a register
Trade marks and patents are registered, and the Intellectual Property Office's searches show who owns each one.
Search yours and read the owner's name. If it's a founder's, or an earlier company's, that's what an investor's adviser will read too. GOV.UK says a new owner of a trade mark must tell the Intellectual Property Office, and that a patent changes hands by a written assignment signed by the seller.
What to put in the data room
The Intellectual Property Office tells employers to keep careful records of who created each work and which agreements were in force. In a data room that means:
- Employment contracts for everyone who made something the company sells.
- Contractor and agency agreements, with the clause on ownership marked.
- Every assignment from a founder, contractor or agency to the company.
- The register entry for each trade mark and patent, with the company as owner.
- One page that lists each thing the company relies on, who made it, and the document that shows the company owns it.
If you find a gap
Don't draft the fix yourself. Whether a contract passes ownership, and what an assignment has to say, are legal questions. Your solicitor or an IP attorney confirms them. GOV.UK suggests speaking to a patent attorney or trade mark attorney and notes that basic advice may be free.
Finding the gap is the part you can do now. It's also what Raise Ready does with you: the agreements go in one place, and each claim in the pack is checked against them.
Questions
Does paying for the work mean my company owns it?
Not by itself. The Intellectual Property Office says that when you commission a copyright work, the first legal owner is the person or organisation that created it, unless you agree otherwise in writing.
Is there a register that shows who owns copyright?
No. GOV.UK says copyright protection is automatic and there isn't a register of copyright works in the UK. Trade marks and patents are different: the Intellectual Property Office's search shows who owns each one.
Does Raise Ready sort out IP ownership?
Raise Ready collects the agreements, checks them against what the pack says, and lists the gaps. It doesn't give legal advice. Your solicitor or an IP attorney confirms who owns what and drafts anything that's missing.