For the last 5 years I’ve worked as an independent contractor in a creative field doing work for a company that’s been in business for a little over 35 years
Over those 5 years; I’ve worked without benefits, without job security, and had zero worker protections…
My responsibilities were murky, my work hours all over the place, and I never knew when the next gig would come…
But you know what I did have?
I had all the intellectual property rights to every single project I created during that time…
I own the raw data and everything associated with the finished project
My portfolio is my asset
This company, that used me as an independent contractor for their clients, became dependent on having easy access to those files, and took advantage of that for as long as they could
Then I finally had the opportunity to break away and say no….
Unfortunately for them, they assumed they could just buy a bunch of equipment, hire someone else, and still use my work to promote those services
What was first used by them to skirt payroll taxes, take away my worker rights, and make me dependent on them, is now working to my benefit…
I never signed a work for hire contract…
I was not an employee…
I was an independent contractor, so by US law, I own the copyright to every single piece of work
Now they either have to stop using my work to promote their business, and risk not having access to files their clients may need in the future…. Or pay a substantial buyout to me, I would also be open to a regular licensing fee lol…
They could always fight it… but that would open them up to audits by the IRS for misclassifying an employee, and they would probably find more than a few others…
TLDR; Point is even when you don’t think you have rights as a contractor, you do own the copyrights. Don’t forget your most valuable asset in the creative industry is your intellectual property