You hired a videographer. You paid the invoice. The video is running on your website and all over your Instagram.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you own it.
This catches a lot of business owners off guard, usually at the worst moment. Someone reposts your video, you go to report it, and now you have to confirm that you own the rights. If you hired the video out and never signed anything about ownership, the honest answer may be no.
Key Takeaways
- Paying for a video doesn’t automatically make you the owner.
- Videos your employees make on the job generally belong to your business. Freelancers generally own their work unless a signed document says otherwise.
- Without that paperwork, you likely have permission to use the video, not ownership.
- That gap can get in the way when someone steals the video and you need to report it.
- You can usually fix it after the fact with a written assignment.
Who Owns the Video?
Under copyright law, ownership usually starts with whoever created the work. The check you wrote doesn’t change that on its own.
Who owns it comes down to who made it and what you signed:
| Who made the video | Who generally owns it |
|---|---|
| Your employee, as part of their job | Your business |
| A freelancer, with no written agreement | The freelancer |
| A freelancer, with a signed copyright assignment | Your business |
| A freelancer, with a qualifying signed work made for hire agreement | Your business |
| An agency or influencer | Whatever their contract says, so read it |
Your Employees
If an employee shoots the video as part of their job, your business is generally treated as the owner. That’s a work made for hire.
The word employee matters here. Calling someone an employee isn’t enough, and neither is working with them regularly. Courts look at the actual relationship, including who controls the work, who supplies the tools, and how the person gets paid and taxed. Someone on a 1099 usually won’t count.
Freelancers and Production Companies
This is where most of the problems live. An independent videographer generally owns the video unless a signed document says otherwise. You have two ways to fix that:
- A copyright assignment. The creator transfers the copyright to you in a signed writing.
- A work made for hire agreement. For commissioned work, this only applies in certain categories, one of which covers work made as part of an audiovisual work. It has to be in writing, expressly call the work a work made for hire, and be signed by both sides.
Many contracts use both, with the assignment as a backstop in case the work made for hire language doesn’t hold up.
What You Probably Have Instead
If you paid for a video and never signed anything, you likely have permission to use it. That’s a license, and it’s not the same as ownership.
A license may let you post the video. It may not let you stop someone else from posting it. It also may not cover new uses, like cutting it into paid ads or using it for a new location.
Why This Matters When Someone Steals Your Video
The problem shows up when you try to enforce.
Why this matters: A DMCA takedown has to come from the copyright owner or someone authorized to act for the owner. You make that statement under penalty of perjury, so you need to know where you stand before you click submit.
If the videographer owns the video, the videographer may be the one who has to report it or authorize you to do it.
The same issue follows you to court. Only the owner of an exclusive right can sue for infringement, so a basic permission to use the video won’t get you there.
If you’re dealing with a stolen video or a fake account right now, our guide to Meta’s Brand Rights Protection program and other reporting tools walks through which report to use.
What Your Video Contract Should Cover
Before the shoot, get the ownership question answered in writing. A good agreement should cover:
- Who owns what. Say clearly that the copyright goes to your business, and have both sides sign.
- What’s included. Spell out the final video, cutdowns, and thumbnails. Decide whether you also get the raw footage and project files.
- When ownership transfers. Many creators tie the transfer to final payment. That’s fair, as long as you make that payment and keep the proof.
- Who else worked on it. If a production company uses subcontractors, it needs rights from them before it can transfer those rights to you.
- What’s licensed from others. Music, stock footage, and graphics may come with their own limits. Owning your video doesn’t mean you own everything in it.
- The people on camera. Get releases from employees, customers, and talent you plan to feature.
- The creator’s portfolio. If the creator wants to show the work, grant that permission back specifically and keep it narrow.
Influencer content needs extra attention. Many creators keep ownership and only give you limited rights, sometimes for a set time or on certain platforms. Boosting that post as a paid ad may be outside what you agreed to.
Already Paid for the Video? Here’s How to Fix It
You can usually clean this up after the fact.
- Pull your paperwork. Check the contract, proposal, invoice, and any terms the creator sent you. Ownership language sometimes sits in the fine print.
- Ask for a written assignment. Many creators will sign a short assignment for a video they’ve already delivered, though some may ask for a fee.
- Fall back to authorization if needed. If the creator won’t assign the copyright, ask for an exclusive license or written permission to report infringement on their behalf.
- Register your most valuable videos. Registration is generally required before you can sue over a U.S. work, and registering early can affect what you can recover.
Start with your most important videos, like your brand film and your best performing ads. Then fix your template so the next one starts out clean.
The Bottom Line
Paying for a video and owning a video are two different things. A signed page or two can close that gap, and it’s a lot easier to get while the project is still friendly.
The same goes for your trademark and other intellectual property. You want the rights lined up before someone copies you.
Sort out the paperwork now, so the day someone steals your video, you can act without having to track down your videographer first.
The information in this article is for general informational purposes and isn’t legal advice for your specific situation.
