Website & App IP Essentials: Do You Actually Own What You’ve Built?

You paid for the website. You commissioned the app. You paid the developer, designer and copywriter.

So you own it all, right?

Not necessarily.

One of the most common intellectual property issues I see in businesses is a gap between what the business thinks it owns and what it actually owns.

Websites and apps are particularly susceptible to this problem because they aren't really a single asset. They are a collection of different things — code, design, branding, written content, photographs, video, data and third-party technology — and the ownership position can be different for each one.

That may not cause any problems while everything is running smoothly.

The difficulty usually appears later: when you change developers, bring on an investor, license your technology, have a dispute with a contractor or decide to sell the business.

So, what should business owners be looking for?

Your website or app is a bundle of IP

Think about a relatively ordinary business website.

It might contain:

• custom code;
• a particular visual design and layout;
• your logo and branding;
• photographs and illustrations;
• written copy;
• blog articles;
• videos;
• downloadable resources;
• databases or other collections of information; and
• plugins, fonts, software and other third-party materials.

An app can add another layer again, including proprietary functionality, interfaces, algorithms and integrations with other technology.

Different intellectual property rights can apply to different parts of that ecosystem.

More importantly, the business using all of those assets isn't necessarily the business that owns them.

“But I paid for it”

This is where many businesses get caught out.

There is an understandable assumption that if you engage someone to create something for your business and pay their invoice, the resulting intellectual property belongs to you.

That isn't a safe assumption.

Copyright ownership depends on matters including who created the work, the circumstances in which it was created and the contractual arrangements between the parties.

This is particularly important when you use independent contractors.

If you engage an external developer, designer, photographer or copywriter, paying them for their work does not necessarily mean that copyright in what they create has been transferred to your business.

You therefore need to look at the contract.

Does it actually assign the relevant intellectual property to you?

Or does it simply give you permission to use it?

Those can be two very different things.

1. Code: who owns the engine?

For an app or custom website, the underlying code may be one of the most commercially important assets.

If an external developer creates that code, your development agreement should deal clearly with intellectual property ownership.

But ownership isn't always the only issue.

Developers routinely use existing libraries, frameworks, open-source software and other third-party components. You generally can't expect a developer to assign ownership of something they didn't create and don't own themselves.

The better question is often:

Do we own the bespoke elements we paid to create, and do we have all the rights we need to continue using everything else?

You should also consider practical control.

Can you access the source code? Is it stored in a repository your business controls? Could another developer take over the project if your existing developer disappeared tomorrow?

A beautifully drafted IP clause is much less useful if the only copy of your source code is sitting in someone else's account.

2. Design: who owns the look and feel?

The same issue arises with UX and UI design.

You may have paid a designer thousands of dollars to develop the visual identity and interface for your platform.

But what does your agreement actually say about ownership?

And did the designer incorporate third-party assets such as fonts, icons, templates or stock graphics?

Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with using licensed material.

The important thing is knowing what you own and what you have permission to use.

3. Website copy and other content

Consider all the words on your website:

Your homepage. Your service descriptions. Your FAQs. Your articles. Your downloadable guides.

If your employees created them as part of their employment, the ownership position may be relatively straightforward.

But what if you engaged a freelance copywriter, marketing consultant or agency?

The same question arises: what does the contract say?

For businesses investing heavily in content marketing, this can become a significant asset library over time. It is worth making sure the business has the rights it thinks it has.

4. Your brand

Then there is the part customers actually recognise.

Your business name. Product names. Logo. Taglines.

These may be protected through a combination of copyright and trade mark rights, depending on the asset and circumstances.

A particularly important issue is making sure those rights sit in the correct entity.

If your company operates the business, but an individual founder personally owns the trade mark — or an old design agency still owns copyright in the logo — you may have an ownership problem sitting quietly in the background.

These issues have a habit of becoming visible at inconvenient times.

5. Images, video and other creative assets

Images are another frequent source of confusion.

An image appearing on your website does not mean you own it.

It may have been:

• commissioned from a photographer;
• created by an agency;
• purchased from a stock image provider;
• supplied by a manufacturer;
• sourced under a particular licence; or
• generated using an AI tool.

Each can have different terms attached to its use.

Stock photography is the obvious example. You're generally purchasing a licence to use an image rather than buying the copyright itself.

That may be completely appropriate. But the licence needs to cover what your business is actually doing with the asset.

6. Third-party platforms and software

There is also an important distinction between the parts of your digital presence that belong to you and the infrastructure you're simply using.

If your online store runs on Shopify, for example, you don't own Shopify.

The same applies to many website builders, plugins, APIs, fonts and software integrations.

Again, that isn't necessarily a problem.

Modern businesses are built on layers of licensed technology.

The goal isn't to own absolutely everything.

The goal is to understand the dependencies and make sure you have sufficient rights for what your business needs to do.

When does any of this actually matter?

Often, nothing happens for years.

Your developer keeps maintaining the website. Your marketing agency keeps producing content. Everyone gets along.

Then something changes.

You decide to move to a new developer and discover you can't get the source files.

You want to turn software developed internally into a product you can license to other businesses.

An investor asks for evidence that the company owns its technology.

Or a purchaser starts due diligence before buying your business and asks a deceptively simple question:

“Please provide evidence that the company owns all material intellectual property used in the business.”

Suddenly, agreements signed five years ago become very important.

Trying to obtain retrospective IP assignments from former contractors can be possible.

It can also be slow, expensive and occasionally impossible.

A practical website and app IP checklist

If your website or app is important to your business, ask:

Who created it?

Identify the developers, designers, photographers, writers, agencies and other contributors.

What do our contracts say?

Check whether intellectual property was actually assigned and whether the assignment covers the assets you think it does.

What do we own and what do we license?

Create a clear distinction between proprietary assets and third-party technology or content.

Does the right entity own the IP?

Make sure valuable IP isn't accidentally sitting with a founder, former business entity or external contractor.

Do we control the practical assets?

Check access to domains, hosting, source-code repositories, design files, app-store accounts and other critical infrastructure.

Is the brand protected?

Consider whether your important names and logos should be registered as trade marks.

Could we prove all of this?

Keep your agreements, assignments and licences somewhere they can actually be found.

You don't need to own everything

Perhaps the most important point is that not owning something isn't automatically a problem.

Every website and app relies on third-party technology.

The objective isn't to collect ownership of every line of code, font or stock photograph your business has ever touched.

It's to know what your business owns, understand what it licenses, and make sure those rights are sufficient for where the business is going.

If you're building something that may eventually be licensed, franchised, invested in or sold, that becomes particularly important.

The earlier you establish that IP foundation, the easier it is to scale on top of it.

Know what you're building on

A website can look perfectly polished while the ownership position underneath it is surprisingly messy.

And that's really the lesson.

Don't wait until a transaction, dispute or change of developer to work out who owns what.

Treat your website and app as business assets now. Understand the IP sitting behind them, document ownership properly and make sure the business has the rights it needs for whatever comes next.

If you're not sure where your IP risks sit, you can also complete my free IP Risk and Ownership Audit at www.elisesteegstra.com/ip-audit, or book a strategy call through www.elisesteegstra.com.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should obtain advice tailored to your circumstances before acting on any information discussed in this article.