I'm a design firm and hired another design firm to design and code a website. There is no contract or anything in writing that states ownership of source code etc. between us ...who owns the source code and graphics?
by 
Liz
ANSWERS: 2
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The design firm that you hired owns the work. Normally the person who creates a work is the copyright owner. However, an exception to this is a work made for hire. When you hire someone to create a work, the employer is considered the author. However, the work for hire doctrine only automatically applies to employer/employee relationships. Since the design firm was an independent contractor, the WFH doctrine does not automatically apply. In order for a work to be a work for hire in an independent contractor relationship, you must specifically commission the work (which you did) and you must have a written agreement indicating that the work is being made as a work for hire.
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does this change if the firm who commissioned work sends web files with copyright form to the US copyright and receives copyright registraion?
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