Copyright Audits & Portfolio Review
Most creative businesses do not know what they own, what is registered, and what is exposed. A copyright audit turns that uncertainty into a documented, defensible rights portfolio.
Do You Actually Need This?
You cannot enforce, license, or sell what you cannot prove you own. These four situations tell you when a copyright audit is urgent.
You are preparing for a fundraising round, acquisition, or licensing deal.
IP due diligence for creative and tech companies always includes a copyright audit. Buyers and investors verify chain of title, registration status, and the absence of third-party claims on the IP they are acquiring. Undiscovered copyright gaps discovered in diligence delay closings, reduce valuations, and create escrow holdbacks.
Your company has used contractors, agencies, or collaborators to create content.
Work created by contractors is not automatically owned by the commissioning company. Without written IP assignment agreements, every external collaborator — designer, developer, photographer, writer — may have a legal claim to copyright in the work they created. A copyright audit identifies and closes these chain-of-title gaps before they become disputes.
You have a large content library but no organized rights management system.
Content businesses often accumulate hundreds or thousands of works over time without systematic registration or rights documentation. Without a structured rights management system, enforcing against infringers is slow and expensive, licensing is inefficient, and the portfolio is undervalued in any commercial transaction.
You have acquired another company or content library and need to verify what you own.
Acquisitions of creative companies routinely transfer copyright ownership — but the quality of that transfer depends entirely on the chain of title in the acquired portfolio. An audit of an acquired portfolio immediately after closing identifies any title defects before they mature into disputes.
What You Get
- Audit Report
Copyright Portfolio Audit
A systematic review of your copyright portfolio — cataloguing owned works, verifying registration status, assessing chain of title, identifying third-party claims or encumbrances, and flagging gaps requiring remediation.
- Rights Analysis
Chain-of-Title Review
A legal analysis of the documents establishing your ownership of each work — IP assignment agreements, work-for-hire contracts, transfer agreements, and license terms — identifying any breaks in the chain that create ownership risk.
- Strategy Document
Rights Management Strategy
A documented rights management strategy for your portfolio — registration priorities, enforcement protocols, licensing opportunity identification, and a repeatable process for managing new works as they are created.
Flat Fee. No Surprises.
Basic Audit
From $2,000up to 50 works- Copyright inventory
- Registration status review
- Chain-of-title summary
- Gap identification report
- Recommended
Full Portfolio Audit
From $3,500up to 200 works- Complete copyright inventory
- Chain-of-title legal analysis
- Registration gap remediation plan
- Rights management strategy document
M&A Due Diligence
From $5,000deal-specific- Acquired portfolio audit
- Chain-of-title opinion
- Title defect identification
- Reps & warranties review
Your Questions Answered
A copyright audit is a systematic review of a company's copyright portfolio — cataloguing owned works, verifying registration status, tracing chain of title, and identifying gaps or encumbrances. It produces a documented ownership record that supports licensing, enforcement, M&A transactions, and investor due diligence.
Chain of title refers to the documented sequence of transfers and assignments establishing that the current claimant is the legal owner of a copyright. A clean chain of title requires: original authorship documents, any work-for-hire or IP assignment agreements covering contractor-created works, and recorded transfers if ownership changed hands. A break in the chain creates ownership uncertainty.
At minimum: before any significant M&A transaction, licensing deal, or fundraising round. For active content businesses, an annual audit is best practice — particularly if you work with contractors, acquire content, or have a large and growing portfolio. The cost of an audit is consistently lower than the cost of resolving a chain-of-title dispute discovered in diligence.
The remediation options depend on the gap. Missing registrations can be filed (though timing affects available remedies). Missing IP assignment agreements can sometimes be obtained retroactively with the original creator's cooperation. Undocumented transfers may require a quitclaim deed or corrective assignment. Some gaps require litigation to resolve. Early discovery gives you more remediation options than discovery during diligence.
Yes — if your website content is part of your copyright portfolio. This includes original text, images, video, software code, and design elements. Website content is often the most poorly documented copyright asset because it accumulates organically over time, is frequently updated, and often involves contractor contributions that were never formally assigned.
