Guides on people and ownership
A first hire, contractors at home and abroad, and who owns the work they make. Each guide is for education and gives no legal advice.
Questions to ask a lawyer about: A first hire · Work contractors made
All 3 guides
Who owns the IP your business built?
Who owns the IP your business built? Code, designs, recipes and content made by founders, contractors and partners, and what was signed with them.
Read →Contractor vs employee: your first hire checklist
Independent contractor or first employee? A checklist of the facts to gather, who owns their work and what you’ve promised, before your first hire.
Read →International contractor: what to have ready
Where they live, what they make for you and how you pay them: what to gather, and what a lawyer may ask, before you hire an international contractor.
Read →Questions these guides answer
- What is a work for hire agreement?
- A friend built our first version for free. Does that matter?
- Our agency holds our domain. Should we move it?
- Can I just call someone a contractor?
- I promised equity in a text message. Does that count?
- Can someone start before the paperwork is done?
- We pay through a freelance platform. Does that change anything?
- Can we give an overseas contractor equity?
- They work full time for us. Are they still a contractor?
Get your lawyer up to speed before the first call
About 30 questions, most of them one tap, free and with no account. Tellbrief turns your answers into a brief your lawyer can work from, and you keep a copy.