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Having an employee copyright declaration drafted by a specialized lawyer typically costs €250 to €750 for a standard version, and €750 to €1,500 when freelancers, software, or existing rights are also involved. For this, you receive a signable document that aligns with the employment contract and Article 7 of the Copyright Act, plus a verification that the rights you believe you hold actually reside with the company. This verification is usually the valuable part: the text itself is limited in scope, but the question of whether the chain is complete is not. Below are the process, the costs, and when outsourcing makes sense.
The short answer
- What: a legal expert drafts the declaration or IP deed and reviews your existing agreements.
- Standard costs: €250 – €750 for a deed for salaried employees.
- Customization costs: €750 – €1,500 for software, freelancers, or existing rights.
- IP scan: €750 – €2,500 when the entire chain of rights is reviewed.
- Lead time: usually three to ten working days.
- When self-employed: only salaried employment, clear job description, work without significant independent value.
What does outsourcing entail?
When outsourcing, the legal expert does not merely deliver a text. He first determines where the rights currently lie. Article 7 of the Copyright Act designates the employer as the creator when the production of such work is part of the duties of employment, but only in the case of a genuine employment relationship and only if the parties have not agreed otherwise. If an employment contract or a collective labor agreement provision exists that deviates from this, the principle does not apply. If freelancers are involved, Article 7 does not apply at all, and a deed of transfer is the only route.
This is followed by the deed itself: confirmation of the employer's copyright, a supplementary transfer for matters falling outside of it, a waiver of moral rights that may be waived, and an obligation to cooperate with subsequent formalities. Often, two versions are provided, one for employees and one for contractors, because they are not legally the same.
How much does it cost to have an employee copyright statement drafted?
- Standard employment deed: €250 – €750. One version, tailored to your job descriptions and employment contract.
- Custom work with freelancer version: €750 – €1,500. Two documents, plus a provision regarding existing work and regarding neighboring, database, and design rights.
- IE scan existing situation: €750 – €2,500. Review of all employees, hiring contracts, and past agreements, with a remediation plan.
- Post-hoc repair: highly variable. As soon as someone leaves the company or the collaboration is terminated, negotiations must take place and compensation is customary.
- Hourly rate: many firms work with a fixed price here, precisely because the scope is easy to estimate.
The amounts are guide prices excluding VAT. The largest cost item is rarely drafting, but rather restoring rights that were never transferred.
The process step by step
- Submit: employment contracts, job descriptions, any applicable collective labour agreement, and contracts with freelancers.
- Analysis: which work falls under Article 7 of the Copyright Act, which work does not, and is there a provision anywhere that deviates from this.
- Drafting: the deed for employees, where necessary with a separate version for contractors.
- Discussion: one round of comments, in which practical implementation is also addressed.
- Signing: on paper or with a reliable electronic signature, as transfer requires a deed (Art. 2, paragraph 3 of the Copyright Act).
- Archiving: signed copies in the personnel file, with an overview of who signed what and when.
Why outsourcing pays off
- The chain is being assessed. A template regulates the new situation, but not the work done over the past years.
- Employee and freelancer are separated. The most common mistake is a single model for everyone, meaning the rights of external parties never transfer.
- The boundaries are correct. A provision that claims all personality rights is void in that part. A legal expert keeps the text within what Article 25 of the Copyright Act permits.
- Due diligence. In the case of financing or a sale, the counterparty requests signed deeds from each party involved, not a template text.
- Alignment with the rest. The statement must fit alongside the employment contract, the non-compete clause, and the confidentiality, without contradictions.
Practical example
A web agency with fourteen employees is seeking an investor. During the due diligence process, a request is made for the IP documentation. The declarations for the salaried employees are in order, but two long-term freelancers never signed anything, and one developer brought their own framework upon joining the company, which is now included in every project. Remedying the situation takes several weeks and compensation to those involved. The deed that would have prevented this would have cost a few hundred euros at the outset.
Honest recommendation
You do not always have to outsource this. If you work exclusively with salaried employees, the creation of that work is clearly stated in their job description, the employment contract contains no deviating intellectual property provision, and the material lacks significant independent value, then Article 7 of the Copyright Act does most of the work. A short, signed standard declaration is sufficient in that case, and you do not need a lawyer for that. The same applies to a small company without external hiring that has no financing or sale in sight.
Make sure to have it done as soon as freelancers, interns, or temporary workers are involved in the product; as soon as software, source code, data files, or the brand image form the core of the company; as soon as an employee has brought in existing work; or as soon as an investment, acquisition, or sale is underway. In those cases, also ask for a brief review of what has been produced in recent years. Repairing it afterwards is not only more expensive, but you are also negotiating with someone who knows you need their signature.
Arrange it or read on: employee copyright statement, background on what is an employee copyright statement and write it yourself via drafting an employee copyright statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
A standard deed for salaried employees typically costs €250 – €750. If a freelancer version is required, or if software and existing rights play a role, this rises to €750 – €1,500. A full IP scan of the existing situation costs €750 – €2,500, excluding VAT.
For a standard deed, it typically takes three to ten working days, including one round of comments. A scan of existing contracts and employees takes longer, because old employment contracts, CLA provisions, and hiring contracts must be requested and reviewed.
When you work exclusively with salaried employees, the creation of that work is clearly stated in the job description, the employment contract does not contain a deviating intellectual property provision, and the work has no significant independent value, Article 7 of the Copyright Act covers most aspects, and a signed standard declaration suffices.
Because Article 7 of the Copyright Act only applies to an employment contract. In the case of a freelancer, there is nothing to confirm, and the transfer must be stated independently in the deed, with a description of the powers being transferred. An employee model therefore simply leaves the rights of external parties with them.
The employment contracts and job descriptions, any applicable collective labour agreement, contracts with freelancers and external contractors, and an overview of the work relevant to the company. Also report if an employee brought existing work with them upon commencement of employment, as this requires a separate provision.
Often yes, but not unilaterally. Rights that have never been transferred can only be transferred via a signed deed, so the person concerned must cooperate. In the case of someone who has already left employment or whose collaboration has been terminated, compensation is usually added on top of that.
In practice, this is almost always the case. During due diligence, signed statements or deeds are required from each party involved, including external parties. If these are missing, a delay, a guarantee, or a deduction from the purchase price will follow. Arranging this in advance is considerably cheaper than rectifying it during the process.
