What do you own or retain when a PR contract ends?
By Joel Andren · Published by PressFriendly, a PR agency · Reviewed August 21, 2026 · Editorial standards · 6 of 7 in this section
You retain company inputs, company-controlled accounts, and agency work the contract assigns or licenses to you. Payment and file possession do not establish copyright ownership. Before signing, require an exit schedule naming each asset, owner, license, restriction, delivery format, account role, and survival term.
Use a three-party rights test for every asset
| Rights source | Common examples | Contract decision |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Logos, source data, approved facts, preexisting copy, accounts | Confirm its rights; limit agency use and require return or deletion |
| Agency or subcontractor | Messaging, releases, reports, research, drafts, press-kit assets | State the assignment or license, uses, duration, formats, and treatment of unfinished work |
| Third party | Publisher articles, photos, stock assets, fonts, research, licensed media data | Record the rights holder, license, attribution, transfer limits, and expiration |
An agency's software, templates, methods, and preexisting databases can remain agency property. The company still needs its campaign record. A media-database license may restrict contact exports, so distinguish licensed records from company-specific outreach history, replies, approvals, and notes.
Copyright changes hands only through the applicable legal mechanism
Under sections 201, 202, and 204 of the US Copyright Act, copyright initially vests in the author, copy ownership is distinct from copyright, and a transfer generally requires a signed writing. The Copyright Office's work-made-for-hire guidance says commissioned work qualifies only under specified conditions, including an eligible category and signed agreement.
Paying an independent agency therefore does not automatically transfer copyright. A written assignment can transfer specified rights; a license can grant defined uses while the creator keeps ownership. Ask counsel to review the work-product definition, assignment or license, subcontractor rights, preexisting materials, and any clause that makes rights effective only after final payment.
Published coverage remains third-party material
An article can prove that the agency delivered a result, but it is not agency work product. The journalist, publisher, photographer, wire service, or another rights holder may control reuse of the text, images, audio, and video.
Retain the URL, publication date, author, coverage record, and written reuse permission. Check rights before republishing an article, using outlet logos, editing a clip, or turning coverage into advertising. Linking to the publisher does not grant broader reuse rights.
Platform roles should preserve company control without shared passwords
Use platform-supported owner and administrator roles where available. Google tells Business Profile users that each person should use a separate Google Account and lets a primary owner assign owners and managers. Google's third-party policy says the business should own the profile and an outside provider should be a manager.
LinkedIn works differently: LinkedIn Page access attaches administrator roles to real personal profiles because Pages have no separate login. LinkedIn also says credential sharing violates its policies. The company should keep at least one current internal super administrator, while the agency receives only the role it needs.
The account owner should control primary roles, recovery, billing, and multi-factor authentication. At exit, that owner verifies company access and exports before removing agency roles. Do not rotate a person's password as a substitute.
A named exit owner makes the handoff enforceable
The contract approver and legal owner should approve rights before signing. The asset owner should accept the files, formats, licenses, and permissions. The account owner should verify roles and recovery. The privacy or security owner should approve retention, deletion, and access removal.
Set delivery timing, storage, export formats, transition support, and acceptance criteria. Address work in progress, subcontractor files, expired licenses, disputed invoices, and required data retention or deletion. Contract length, notice, and exit terms govern timing; the offboarding checklist covers transfer.