Who&#39;s liable for copyright infringement when hiring a design company?
<p>If company A pays company B to create an ad/logo/video/etc. and then uses it, what happens if company B used copyrighted material without obtaining the necessary permissions, unbeknown to company A? Is company A liable for that?</p>

<p>I assume they wouldn't be able to use the material after being informed of the infringement and presented proof of that. I'm asking about if they <strong><em>don't</em></strong> know about it.</p>

<p>Yes, company A is liable for that; ignorance is not a defence.</p>

<p>For this reason, a prudent company A would put an indemnification clause in their contract with company B so that if A is sues then company B pays. This is, of course, completely useless if company B is out of business at the time of the suit.</p>

united-states copyright intellectual-property international