What do you own when the contract ends?
You keep the material you brought into the engagement, accounts registered to your company, and agency work that the contract assigns or licenses to you. You do not automatically own articles that publishers wrote about you or every document an agency created on retainer. The agreement should identify each asset, its owner, your usage rights, and its delivery format at exit.
Published coverage belongs to its copyright owner
A placement is evidence of the agency's work, but the article itself is third-party journalism. Under US copyright law, copyright begins with the author unless another rule or agreement applies. A publication, journalist, wire service, or other rights holder may control reuse of the story, photos, and video. Your company can link to the coverage. Republishing the full work, using outlet logos, or turning it into advertising may require permission or a license.
Record the live URL, publication date, reporter name, and any reuse permission the outlet granted. Do not treat the article as client work product in the agency agreement.
Agency work changes hands only when the agreement says so
The US Copyright Office's work-made-for-hire guidance distinguishes employee work from commissioned work and limits when a commissioned work qualifies. Paying an independent agency does not by itself transfer copyright. An assignment or license in the contract can define the rights you receive without relying on the work-made-for-hire label.
| Asset | What to confirm before signing |
|---|---|
| Your logos, source data, approved facts, and preexisting copy | They remain yours and are returned on request |
| Messaging, releases, pitch angles, media lists, reports, and press-kit assets created for you | The agreement states ownership or license rights, permitted reuse, and delivery format |
| The agency's preexisting database, software, templates, and internal methods | They remain agency property; you receive exports needed to continue your program |
| Published articles, photos, broadcasts, and third-party research | The publisher or other rights holder controls reuse unless it grants permission |
Ask counsel to review the work-product definition, any assignment or license, preexisting agency tools, and rights that survive termination. A broad label such as "deliverables" is less useful than a schedule naming the files and exports you expect.
Company-controlled accounts make the handoff routine
Register newsrooms, distribution profiles, monitoring accounts, and shared storage to company email addresses. Give the agency role-based access while the engagement runs. At exit, collect current exports, revoke agency access, and rotate credentials. Contract length, notice, and exit terms control wind-down timing; this ownership check determines whether the replacement team can open the files and continue the work.