Do you actually own your IP?

Most founders assume yes. We paid for the logo, the app, the website, so of course it is ours. Then due diligence arrives, a buyer's lawyers trace the ownership of each asset, and a quiet gap turns into a discount or a stalled deal. The good news: it is almost always fixable, and far cheaper to fix now than in a data room.

The rule that surprises people: paying is not owning

Under UK law, whoever creates something usually owns the rights in it by default. There is one big exception: work made by an employee in the course of their job belongs to the employer automatically. But a freelancer, agency or contractor keeps the copyright in what they make for you unless they have signed it over in writing. You commissioned the work and paid the invoice, but the rights can still sit with them. The American idea of "work for hire" does not rescue you here.

The four places the gap usually hides

• The freelance designer or agency who built your early brand, logo and website.
• The contract developers who wrote your first product, without a signed assignment.
• Founders who created things before the company legally existed, so the rights sit with them personally, not the business.
• Employees whose contracts say nothing about IP, or were never actually signed.

What a proper fix looks like

The cure is a written assignment, a short document in which the creator formally transfers the rights to the company. For copyright it must be in writing and signed to be valid, so a verbal "yeah, it's all yours" counts for nothing. A careful assignment also deals with moral rights, the creator's personal right to be credited and to object to changes, which do not transfer automatically and can otherwise resurface awkwardly. The aim is a clean, unbroken chain of title from every creator to the company.

Do it on your timetable, not theirs

Found early, this is a couple of quiet conversations and some paperwork while everyone is still on good terms. Found during a funding round or a sale, it becomes a scramble to track down a contractor you parted with years ago, who now knows exactly how much their signature is worth. Same gap, very different price. The move is to map who created what and close the gaps before anyone is forced to ask.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Nothing here is advice until terms are agreed in writing.