Contracts and IP Assignment Map

WCNCONTRACTS & IP ASSIGNMENT MAP

09 · LEGAL → E

Contracts & IP assignment · E

Who owns
the work.

Brand work made by contributors and vendors must clearly become WCN’s. This cluster is the contract layer — assignment, work-for-hire, NDAs and releases. Tap any card to open its spec.

OSS

CONTRIBUTOR

WORK-FOR-HIRE

NDA

RELEASES

50%

CONTRACTS COVERAGE

1 shipped

3 in progress

1 planned

09E01 OSS compliance DONE

WCN builds on open-source — fonts, libraries, tooling. Compliance means meeting the obligations that come with that openness, so the brand stays a good-faith user, not an infringer.

LICENSEOFL · permissive OBLIGATIONSAttribution REDISTRIBAllowed AUDITClean

“

E01.1 · THE OBLIGATIONS

Free isn’t free of rules.

Permissive licenses still require attribution and license-text inclusion. Knowing each dependency’s obligations is the difference between compliant and infringing.

ATTRIBRequired

TEXTInclude license

KNOWPer dependency

ELSEInfringing

E01.2 · ATTRIBUTION

Credit, collected.

All required attributions live in one colophon / notices file, kept current as dependencies change. One place means nothing is missed at ship time.

HOMENotices file

CURRENTMaintained

COVERSAll deps

SHIPIncluded

E01.3 · REDISTRIBUTION

Sharing downstream.

When WCN ships fonts or code onward, it carries the original licenses with them. Redistribution is allowed precisely because the terms travel intact.

CARRIESLicenses

WITHThe asset

ALLOWEDYes

INTACTTerms

E01.4 · AUDIT

Provably clean.

Dependencies are periodically scanned for license type and obligation. A clean, documented audit is what lets WCN say “yes” to enterprise and investor due diligence.

SCANPeriodic

CHECKSLicense type

CLEANDocumented

HELPSDue diligence

DON'T

Don't skip attribution — Permissive still requires it.

Don't drop license text — It travels with the asset.

Don't assume “free” = no terms — Read each license.

Don't avoid the audit — Clean is provable, not assumed.

“Open-source generosity comes with small obligations — meet them.”

09E02 Contributor IP WIP

Brand and product work made by employees and contributors must clearly belong to WCN. A contributor agreement assigns that IP cleanly — at submission, in writing, on the record.

TOOLCLA / assignment SCOPEAll contributions TIMINGAt submission RECORDSigned

“

E02.1 · THE AGREEMENT

One signature.

A contributor license / assignment agreement transfers IP in contributed work to WCN. Signed once per contributor, it covers their ongoing work cleanly.

DOCCLA / IPAA

TRANSFERSTo WCN

ONCEPer person

ONGOINGCovered

E02.2 · WHAT IT COVERS

Brand and product.

The agreement covers design, code, copy and any brand asset. The scope is broad on purpose — gaps are where future ownership disputes start.

DESIGNYes

CODEYes

COPYYes

BROADBy design

E02.3 · WHEN SIGNED

Before the first commit.

Assignment is signed before contribution begins — at onboarding for staff, before access for contractors. Retroactive assignment is fragile and sometimes unenforceable.

STAFFOnboarding

CONTRACTORBefore access

RETROAvoided

CLEANUpfront

E02.4 · THE RECORD

Filed, and findable.

Signed agreements are stored in the IP register against each contributor, so ownership of any asset can be traced to a signature. Unrecorded is unprovable.

STOREIP register

PERContributor

TRACEAsset → sig

UNRECORDEDUnprovable

DON'T

Don't assign retroactively — Sign before contributing.

Don't scope it narrowly — Cover all brand work.

Don't skip contractors — They need it most.

Don't lose the signature — File it in the register.

“The work you can’t prove you own, you may not own.”

09E03 Work-for-hire WIP

Agencies and freelancers create some of the brand’s most visible work. Work-for-hire and assignment clauses ensure WCN owns it — not the vendor who happened to make it.

CLAUSEWork-for-hire + assign VENDORSAgencies · freelance OWNERSHIPWCN MORALWaived where allowed

E03.1 · THE CLAUSE

Belt and braces.

Contracts use both “work made for hire” and an explicit assignment — because work-for-hire doesn’t apply to every deliverable in every jurisdiction. The assignment is the backstop.

BOTHWFH + assign

WHYWFH is limited

ASSIGNBackstop

ALLDeliverables

E03.2 · AGENCIES & FREELANCE

Every maker.

The clause is standard in every vendor and freelance contract — design, video, photography, dev. No brand work is commissioned without it.

INAll contracts

COVERSDesign · video

ALSOPhoto · dev

NONEWithout it

E03.3 · OWNERSHIP TRANSFER

On payment, it’s yours.

Ownership transfers on final payment, and source files are delivered. “We paid for it” and “we own it” are made the same thing, in writing.

TRANSFEROn payment

DELIVERSource files

SAMEPaid = owned

WRITTENYes

E03.4 · GAPS

Mind the edges.

Watch for pre-existing vendor IP, third-party assets embedded in deliverables, and moral rights. The contract names how each is handled so nothing is assumed.

PRE-EXISTINGLicensed

EMBEDDEDCleared

MORALWaived

ASSUMEDNever

DON'T

Don't rely on WFH alone — Add explicit assignment.

Don't forget source files — Own the editable originals.

Don't ignore embedded assets — Clear third-party content.

Don't skip the clause once — Every vendor, every time.

“Paying for work and owning it are two different things — unless the contract says so.”

09E04 NDA & confidentiality WIP

Brand launches, partnerships and unreleased work need protection before they’re public. NDAs set the rules for what stays confidential, with whom, and for how long.

TYPEMutual WHENPre-launch · partner TERMDefined SCOPEMarked

E04.1 · MUTUAL NDA

Both ways, by default.

WCN’s standard is a mutual NDA — both sides protected. It’s fairer, faster to sign, and avoids the imbalance that stalls partnership talks.

STANDARDMutual

PROTECTSBoth

FASTERTo sign

FAIRYes

E04.2 · WHEN USED

Before the reveal.

NDAs precede sharing anything unreleased — rebrands, partnerships, campaigns. The trigger is simple: if it isn’t public yet, it’s under NDA.

BEFORESharing

COVERSRebrand · deals

TRIGGERNot yet public

SIMPLERule

E04.3 · TERM

How long it binds.

Each NDA states a confidentiality term — typically a few years past disclosure. Open-ended secrecy is hard to enforce; a defined term is both fair and effective.

TERMDefined years

FROMDisclosure

OPEN-ENDEDAvoided

ENFORCEEffective

E04.4 · WHAT’S COVERED

Mark it confidential.

Confidential material is labelled as such, so there’s no argument later about what was covered. Clear marking is what makes an NDA actually enforceable.

LABELConfidential

CLARITYNo argument

ENFORCEMarking helps

DEFAULTWhen unsure

DON'T

Don't default to one-way — Mutual is the standard.

Don't leave term open — Define the years.

Don't skip marking — Label what’s confidential.

Don't share before signing — NDA precedes the reveal.

“Confidentiality is only real if everyone agreed to it first.”

09E05 Model releases PLANNED

Any recognisable person in WCN’s photography or video needs to have agreed to it. Model releases are the permission that keeps real faces in brand work legal and respectful.

PEOPLERelease required PROPERTYSometimes STORAGELinked to asset MINORSGuardian signs

E05.1 · MODEL RELEASES

A signed yes.

Any identifiable person in commercial brand imagery signs a model release granting use. Without it, the brand can’t safely publish their likeness.

WHOIdentifiable people

GRANTSUse of likeness

COMMERCIALRequired

WITHOUTCan’t publish

E05.2 · PROPERTY RELEASES

Places, too.

Recognisable private property — a building interior, distinctive artwork — can need a property release. The rule of thumb: if it’s identifiable and private, clear it.

PROPERTYCan need release

EXAMPLESInteriors · art

RULEIdentifiable + private

CLEARTo be safe

E05.3 · STORAGE

Release with the image.

Each release is stored and linked to the specific asset in the register, so the permission travels with the photo. An image without its release is a risk in waiting.

STOREWith asset

LINKIn register

TRAVELSTogether

ELSERisk

E05.4 · MINORS

Guardians sign.

For anyone under 18, a parent or guardian signs. Extra care, extra records — using a minor’s image without proper consent is both a legal and an ethical failure.

UNDER 18Guardian

CAREExtra

RECORDSKept

ETHICSMatter

DON'T

Don't publish without release — Identifiable people consent.

Don't forget property — Some places need clearing.

Don't separate release and image — Link them in the register.

Don't use minors loosely — Guardian consent, always.

“A face in your campaign is a person who has to have said yes.”

In progress

Making the work WCN’s.

Open-source compliance is settled; contributor assignment, work-for-hire and NDAs are drafting. Model releases close the gap on photography.

WCN Contracts & IP Assignment Map · 5 topics · E01–E05

09 · LEGAL · E · v1.0