Paying a freelancer or an agency does not make you the owner of what they create. In Spain, every copyright assignment must be in writing and only covers the rights, modes of exploitation, term and territory it actually states; Mexico and Brazil apply similar rules, each with its own twist. A well-drafted copyright assignment agreement is therefore the only reliable way to own logos, photos, copy, code and campaigns. This checklist is for marketing, legal and procurement teams commissioning creative work across Europe and Latin America.<\/p>\n
Under Spain’s Consolidated Intellectual Property Law (TRLPI<\/a>), copyright belongs to the natural person who creates the work. There is a presumption in favour of employers for works created by employees (art. 51), but none for freelancers, studios or agencies. Without a written assignment, the client usually has, at most, the use that can be inferred from the contract as indispensable to its purpose (art. 43.2).<\/p>\n Mexico’s Federal Copyright Law (LFDA<\/a>) is more generous to the commissioning party, which holds the economic rights unless agreed otherwise (art. 83), but it requires contract terms to be clear and precise and resolves doubts in favour of the author (art. 83 bis). Brazil’s Copyright Law (Law 9,610\/1998<\/a>) states that copyright contracts are interpreted restrictively (art. 4). In all three, a vague purchase order is a weak title.<\/p>\n These default rules apply when a contract omits a point. They are the main reason to spell everything out.<\/p>\nWhat the law fills in when the contract is silent<\/h2>\n