Should designer own copyright?

[pornlaw]

Originally Posted by Forest

if you pay for it you own it

When I hire someone to do design work for me, they are working for me and I therefore own the work produced.

Not true. You need a Work for Hire and an Assignment of Rights to truly own it. In the US, copyright is a akin to a property right than can only change ownership through a written agreement.

Without them, as the person paying for it, you only have a license to use their work.

There is an exception - unless the person performing the work is a salaried employee with taxes and all the other benefits that come with it. You cannot 1099 someone and then claim they are an employee. If they are an employee you own everything they do in the course of their employment.