Website Design Ownership: Who Owns the Work

The policy above sets out the details. Here is how it works for the things you will actually receive and use. This is an explanation, not legal advice, and it follows the terms stated in the policy.

Your materials stay yours

Your logo, product photos, product descriptions, brand colors, customer lists and any other material you supply belong to you. We use them only to do the job you ordered, and sending them to us does not transfer ownership.

The finished work is yours to use

The theme changes, page layouts, copy, graphics and other deliverables we make for you are for you to use in your store once the order has been paid and completed, as our terms state. You do not pay royalties or monthly license fees for the work itself.

Third-party items keep their licenses

Themes, apps, fonts and stock assets are owned by other companies and licensed under their own terms. If a project includes one, we tell you what it is and what its license covers before it is added, so you can decide first. Cancelling an app plan or theme license can affect features that depend on it.

Our tools and methods

The methods, checklists and code snippets we reuse across projects remain ours so that we can keep working that way for everyone. Anything made specifically for you from your materials is yours.

• Keep originals. Store the original logo, photos and copy files in your own storage, not only inside your store.
• Keep licenses. Save receipts and license terms for themes, fonts, apps and stock images.
• Own your domain and store account. Register your domain and Shopify store in your own name and email address.
• Credit where required. Some images and fonts need attribution. Check the license.
• Use written agreements with any designer or agency, stating who owns the finished work.
• Watch for copying. If someone copies your product descriptions or photos, keep dated evidence and contact them or the platform.

If you receive a claim that your store uses someone else's work, take it seriously, remove the content if it is clearly theirs and seek advice. The policy above explains how we handle claims about our own work.

Who owns a Shopify store design?

Who owns Shopify store design depends on your agreement. With us, finished work is yours to use in your store once the order is paid and complete, and third-party themes, apps and fonts keep their own licenses.

What does Shopify design copyright cover?

Shopify design copyright generally protects original creative work such as layouts, images, copy and code that someone made. It does not cover ideas or common layouts. A legal adviser can explain how it applies in your region.

What is intellectual property in web design?

Intellectual property in web design includes logos, graphics, written content, custom code and sometimes layouts. Who owns intellectual property in a project should be written down before work starts.

Is a website considered intellectual property?

A website is a collection of items that can each be intellectual property, such as text, images, code and design. Whether the whole site counts depends on how it was made and what the agreement says.

What about employee intellectual property ownership, and intellectual property of a company?

In many places, work made by employees in their job belongs to the company, while work by independent contractors may not unless agreed. Ownership of intellectual property rights should be stated in writing, including in digital marketing and design projects.