Just found out my 'work for hire' clause was a mess

I was going over an old contract from a client in Austin last year and realized my work for hire language was way too vague. It didn't even specify what deliverables counted, so they could have claimed anything I touched on their project. My lawyer buddy pointed out I needed to list exact file types and revision limits in the clause itself. Has anyone else had a client try to stretch a vague contract like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

rosepark18d ago

Double down on that lawyer buddy's advice and put a cap on how many revisions count as original scope. I've seen freelancers get stuck looping on changes for months because they didn't spell out the limit.

grantc8018d ago

Start with a verb. Go back through the project emails too. A lot of freelancers don't realize that email threads can count as part of the contract if the client's lawyer is aggressive enough. I had a buddy who got burned because a client's team used casual messages to define scope after the fact, and the vague "work for hire" clause made it stick. So make sure your contract says the written agreement is the whole deal, not any random chats or DMs. That little extra sentence can save you from a huge headache down the road.

the_lucas18d ago

Yikes, is that really a common thing? I feel like most clients aren't going to dig through old emails looking for a gotcha. Did your buddy fight it in court or just settle?