YOU'VE PAID FOR YOUR BRAND...
BUT DO YOU OWN IT?

Your logo might be on every vehicle, building, website, product and invoice. But have you ever checked who actually owns the Intellectual Property or the copyright?

Many businesses assume that paying a designer or branding agency automatically gives them ownership of the creative work. Unfortunately, that isn't necessarily the case.

Historic agreements may be missing. Freelancers may have retained rights. Agencies may have commissioned third-party creators. Stock imagery and fonts may have restrictions. Client lists and assets might have been sold on or merged. And AI-generated artwork introduces another layer of uncertainty.

These issues might remain unnoticed for years. But when you want to sell your business, attract investment, licence your brand or expand into new markets, knowing what you own becomes much more important.

What we help you investigate

  • Logo and visual identity ownership.

  • Original designer and agency agreements.

  • Copyright assignments and licences.

  • Freelance and commissioned creative work.

  • Website imagery, illustrations and graphics.

  • Fonts, stock photography and other licensed assets.

  • AI-generated branding and artwork.

  • Original design files and asset availability.

  • Trade mark registration and ownership records.

From uncertainty to clarity.

Our Brand Ownership Review examines the available evidence, identifies potential gaps and provides a practical action plan. Where possible, we help locate original creators, recover missing documentation and coordinate straightforward rights assignments, negotiating on your behalf. Where ownership cannot be established or resolved, we can explore alternative creative solutions, including the development of a new brand identity.

For complex, disputed or high-value matters, we work alongside specialist IP solicitors.

Don't assume everything is fine because nobody has challenged it.

Find out what you own, what you need and what you should do next.

Comprehensive brand protection services

Brand ownership check

We examine historical designer contracts, freelance assignments, trade mark registrations, and creative licences to confirm you legally own your visual identity.

Within this strategic brand audit, we will establish ownership, investigate complications and inspect brand assets, ensuring they are fit for purpose and assigned within the business.

Asset and licence audit

From website imagery, illustrations, and commercial fonts to AI-generated artwork, we audit licences and secure original design files across your organisation.

Creating an imagery repository, usage policies, guidelines and a 'Brand Passport' that can grow with you and become a saleable asset with your business. 

Rights recovery and resolution

If at all possible, we track down the 'creator' of your brand and negotiate with them to assign IP to your business in a way that it can be leveraged and valued as an asset.

Where gaps exist, we trace creators to secure formal copyright transfers, collaborate with specialist IP solicitors, or re-engineer identities to eliminate legal exposure.

Avoid costly surprises when preparing to sell or scale

Unverified intellectual property is one of the quickest ways to derail a corporate valuation or sale. When due diligence exposes unassigned logos or licensing flaws, enterprise value drops and transactions stall. Our proactive audits protect your strategic direction and balance sheet.

Do you know where you stand?

There are several situations that can create uncertainty in your brand asset ownership.

  • Your logo was created years ago and you cannot find the original agreement.

  • You paid an agency or freelancer, but never received written confirmation of copyright ownership.

  • Different designers have contributed to your identity over time.

  • You have the finished logo but not the original editable artwork.

  • Your website, packaging, photography or marketing materials were created by external suppliers.

  • You have used AI-generated creative assets without checking the relevant terms and rights.

  • You're preparing to sell, seek investment or expand your business and need to establish what brand assets you control.

None of these circumstances automatically means you have a problem. But they may be reasons to investigate.

How Think Brands can help

The starting point in to take out Brand Ownership Questionnaire. This is a FREE and valuable resource that can highlight potential issues and the results will give us a clear indication of any rick that you brand ownership may be exposed to.

If there are some concerns, we offer a practical, staged approach to establish your brand ownership.

Brand IP Health Check

Set Price

£495 + VAT

A structured initial review of your brand ownership position, including a more in-depth questionnaire, review of relevant documents supplied and initial risk screening.

We'll help identify potential gaps, uncertainties and areas that may need further investigation. In most cases, this is enough to clarify the situation and establish the risks.

Brand Ownership Audit

Starting at

£1950 + VAT

A more detailed review, including creator tracing, a brand asset register, examination of available ownership evidence and a written risk report.

This helps establish what documentation exists, what may be missing and where further action may be appropriate. As part of this process, we will negotiate with owners of your IP and seek resolution. This may require a settlement agreement and/or final settlement payments to secure the assets.

Remediation and Resolution

Starting at

£6800 + VAT

Where gaps are identified, we can coordinate creator outreach, documentation gathering and the process of resolving outstanding ownership issues.

Some creators and IP owners may be unwilling to settle in a straightforward manner.

In these cases, where legal advice, agreements and mediation to establish formal sign-offs are required, we work with an appropriately qualified specialist IP solicitor, to secure the assets on your behalf.

Clean-Slate Rebrand

Starting at

£4800 + VAT

In some circumstances, developing a genuinely new identity may be a more practical and cost-effective route than trying to resolve historic creative rights issues.

We can create a new brand identity, coordinate appropriate clearance, supply original source files and arrange documented assignments for the new human-created design work.

Whether this is preferable depends on the circumstances, including existing rights, trade marks, goodwill and the cost of changing the brand.

All of our working outputs come with IP sign-offs as standard and a Brand Repository system to secure your assets in one place.

Prices are illustrative starting prices for the stated service scope. Additional legal fees, third-party costs and exceptional project requirements may be quoted separately. Settlement agreements to secure the assets often involve additional settlement fees paid top the original creator/owner.

A practical approach, not unnecessary legal complexity

Think Brands is a branding specialist, not a law firm. We focus on the creative assets, records, evidence and practical coordination that businesses need, following our own robust and high-standards of brand asset accounting.

We can gather information, organise documents, identify gaps, trace contributors, manage creative work and coordinate specialist legal input where necessary, including negotiating with IP owners and creators on your behalf.

If a matter involves disputed ownership, complex contracts, infringement allegations or a formal legal opinion, we'll recommend appropriate specialist advice. In this instance, we'll remain by your side, to coordinate the project and bring it to resolution.

Make sure your brand is an asset you can account for

A well-managed brand should have more than a good-looking logo. It should have an organised record of the people who created it, the rights your business holds and the assets you use.

Start with a Brand Ownership Questionnaire.

Find out whether your brand ownership records are as strong as the business you've built.