The paperwork behind your site

Paying for the work does not make you the owner

Copyright starts with whoever made the thing. Section 201(a) of the Copyright Act says copyright "vests initially in the author or authors of the work." Your designer is the author of the code and the words they write for you, unless the contract moves those rights.

There is a shortcut called work made for hire, and it is narrow. Section 101 lists nine kinds of commissioned work that can qualify, and a website is not one of the nine. Section 204(a) says a transfer of copyright is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights.

So look for a plain written assignment of copyright to your business, signed, effective on final payment. Those sections sit on copyright.gov under Copyright Law of the United States, published by the U.S. Copyright Office. That page carries no update date. This is not legal advice. Have your own attorney read the wording.

Do not count on a federal rule to get you out

The FTC's 2024 click to cancel rule is gone. In Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC (8th Cir. 2025) the court found the agency skipped a required step and vacated it. On February 12, 2026 the FTC published a final rule in the Federal Register restoring the older text of 16 CFR Part 425, which covers mail order plans like book clubs, not website contracts.

That leaves your own renewal terms as the terms. Find the length, the renewal date, and how many days of written notice you owe. Put that deadline in a calendar with a reminder a month ahead. Some states have their own auto renewal laws. Ask your attorney or your state attorney general's office about yours.

A clause cannot hand off a duty you still owe

The Department of Justice says ADA requirements "apply to all the goods, services, privileges, or activities offered by public accommodations, including those offered on the web." That guidance was posted on ada.gov on March 18, 2022, and it says businesses have flexibility in how they comply.

A vendor can agree to build to a standard and pay for fixes, and that is worth having in writing. It does not move the duty off the business the public deals with. Your state licensing board sets the rules for your trade, and this page is not legal advice.

One honest limit. If your vendor already keeps the accounts in your name and hands them over when asked, you do not need to change anything or buy anything.

What to do next

Work through this with the contract open.

• Read the renewal clause and write the notice deadline on a calendar.
• Check whose name is on the domain and hosting accounts. Ask to be the account owner, with your vendor added as a user.
• Ask for a signed assignment of the copyright in the design, the code, the photos, and the words.
• Ask what you get on the last day: which files, and how long the site stays up.
• Take the answers to your own attorney before you sign.