Published: 28 April 2022 · Last updated: 29 October 2026
🎙 Did you know you don’t own any of your Virtual Assistant's intellectual property that they create for you? Understanding work ownership rights in business is crucial for every entrepreneur.
Steve gives you the method for transferring ownership to you when receiving your team members' work.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: Understanding Intellectual Property Rights in Business
- If you are creative – whether in graphical design, technical design, speech, music, art, or prose of any kind – you own the copyright, by default, of any of your work.
- The ownership rights of the work handed to you do not automatically revert to you if you do not have an agreed employment contract as an employer, as is often the case with VA.
- Have all of your new staff sign a short document called an Assignment of Intellectual Property Rights. You can get this document for free in ‘Valuable Resources’ below.
- You can then use a digital signing service if you are completing this over a distance and need to avoid meeting the person or the inefficiency of snail mail.
BEST MOMENTS: Insights on Intellectual Property Rights in Business
‘This specific topic is simple to fix and important for you and your business.’
‘That means any work that they create for you while working for you is theirs. They have the rights to it even though you pay them to create it.’
‘Once you've got that document, you simply send that over to your new staff and say, "Hey, can you put your name and sign this." Also, put the date they started working for you, and you can backdate this, by the way.’
‘Even if your logo becomes a home brand and everyone knows it, the person who designed that logo is the one who owns it, and they could ask you to stop using it.’
VALUABLE RESOURCES
Intellectual Property Assignment Document: http://seedsummit.org/intellectual-property-assignment/
Get free access to our Recruit Right Framework for hiring the right people for your business at sys.academy/guides
CONNECT WITH THE HOST
Website: www.SystemizeYourSuccess.com
Facebook Group: Facebook.com/groups/systemsandoutsourcing/
LinkedIn: LinkedIn.com/company/systemsandoutsourcing/
Instagram: Instagram.com/systems_and_outsourcing/
YouTube: YouTube.com/@drsteveday42
ABOUT THE HOST
Steve used to be a slave to his business, but when he moved to Sweden in 2015, he was forced to change how he worked. He switched to running his businesses remotely. After totally nailing this concept, he spent his time helping other small business owners do the same. Steve’s been investing in property since 2002, has a degree in Computing, and worked as a doctor in the NHS before quitting to focus full-time on sharing his systems and outsourcing Methodology with the world. He now lives in Sweden and runs his UK-based businesses remotely with the help of his team of Filipino and UK-based Virtual Assistants.
Most business owners are overwhelmed because they don’t know how to create systems or get the right help.
Our Systems and Outsourcing courses and coaching programme will help you automate your business and work effectively with affordable virtual assistants. That way, you will stop feeling overwhelmed and start making more money.
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Establish the Work Ownership Rights in your Business and make sure you legally own any of your Virtual Assistants' work!
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