Who owns the copyright when I pay a freelancer?

The freelancer, usually. Paying for creative work does not transfer copyright: under 17 U.S.C. § 201, an independent contractor's work is a work made for hire only for nine statutory categories and only with a signed written agreement, and any other transfer requires a signed written assignment under 17 U.S.C. § 204(a).

The default surprises almost every client: absent the right paperwork, a freelancer owns the copyright in what you paid them to create, and the payer holds at most an implied license to use it. Copyright vests in the author (17 U.S.C. § 201); an employee's work within the job belongs to the employer, but an independent contractor's work is a work made for hire only if it falls within nine categories listed in 17 U.S.C. § 101 and the parties signed a written work-for-hire agreement, the rule of Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid (1989) 490 U.S. 730. Everything else, including most logos, websites, photography, and software, requires a signed written assignment to change hands (17 U.S.C. § 204(a)). California adds a wrinkle worth knowing: statutes treat a hiring party as an employer for unemployment and workers' compensation purposes when a contract labels the work made for hire, so many California drafters use assignment language instead. Fix ownership in writing before the work begins.

Authority: 17 U.S.C. § 201