Most advice on comparing branding quotes stops at the deliverables: how many logo versions, how many revisions. That matters, but it is the easy half. The clauses that cost people money later are the ones nobody lines up side by side: who owns the finished artwork, which fonts and images you are actually licensed to use, what counts as a change, and what happens to the work if the project stops.
This guide covers those terms. It is general information, not legal advice. For the list of files and documents a complete package should contain, read what a brand identity package should include first, then come back here to check the paperwork.
Count what each quote says in writing
Before you look at any price, run one test on every proposal. For each of the eight areas below, mark whether the quote states it in writing. Not “implied” and not “we can discuss it”, but written down.
| Area | Quote A | Quote B | Quote C |
|---|---|---|---|
| A named list of deliverables and file formats | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| What counts as a review round, and how many | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| How changes outside the agreed scope are handled | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| How and when the rights in the final work pass to you | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Which fonts and images are licensed, and for what uses | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| When payments fall due, and what each one is tied to | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| What is excluded or assumed | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| Whether the studio may show the work publicly | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
A low count does not make a quote bad. It tells you which questions to send before you decide. A quote that leaves four of these blank is not cheaper. It is unfinished, and the gaps are where disputes start. Asking every studio to state its assumptions and exclusions is a normal request in branding procurement, so you are not being difficult by asking.
Who owns the logo? What Indian copyright law says
Many buyers assume that paying for a logo makes them its owner. Under Indian copyright law that is not automatic, and the details are worth knowing before you sign.
The default. Section 17 of the Copyright Act, 1957 says the author of a work is its first owner, subject to listed exceptions. One exception is employment: work made under a contract of service belongs to the employer unless agreed otherwise. Another covers certain works made for payment at someone’s request, but that clause names specific works: photographs, paintings, portraits, engravings and cinematograph films. A brand identity is not named in it. Whether a particular logo is treated as one of those works is a legal question, so do not rely on the exception. The safe route is a written assignment.
What a valid assignment needs. Section 19 sets the rules:
- It must be in writing and signed by the assignor, who is the studio or designer, or their authorised agent.
- It must identify the work and specify the rights assigned.
- It must state the duration and the territorial extent.
- If no period is stated, it is deemed to last five years from the date of assignment.
- If no territory is stated, it is presumed to extend within India.
- If the assignee does not use the assigned rights within one year, the assignment lapses unless it says otherwise.
Read the last three points as a buyer. A proposal that says only “all rights transferred” without a period or territory leaves you relying on the statutory defaults, which may not match a business that plans to grow beyond India or to use the identity for many years. A good proposal says what is assigned, for how long, where, and when the transfer takes effect, for example on final payment.
If ownership matters to you, and for a brand it does, ask the studio to put the assignment wording in the proposal or in a short agreement, and have a lawyer read it. Our own proposals state how the rights in the approved final artwork are handled, so the answer is on paper before work begins.
Copyright is not a trademark
Owning the copyright in the artwork does not protect the logo as a brand. Trademark registration is a separate legal step with its own application, and most design quotes leave it out. If you plan to register the name or logo, ask whether the studio’s work includes any search or preparation, and expect the filing itself to be extra. The two protections do different jobs: copyright covers the artwork, and a registered mark covers its use as a brand for particular goods or services.
A licence is not ownership: fonts and stock images
A logo often contains a typeface, and sometimes a stock illustration. You can own the final artwork and still not be licensed to use what it is built from.
- A desktop font licence typically allows a logo exported as an image or vector, but usually not embedding the font itself in a website or an app. Web and app use are normally separate licences.
- Some foundries restrict logo use specifically and require a special licence if the font is used to create a brand or corporate identity.
- Free fonts have licences too. “Free to download” does not always mean “free to use in a logo or on a site”.
Ask each studio: which fonts and images are in the identity, who holds the licences, and do those licences cover print, web and apps? A strong proposal either names the fonts and their licence terms, or confirms that the identity uses fonts you can legally use everywhere you need them.
Revisions and change requests
“Three rounds of revisions” sounds clear and often is not. Compare how each quote defines a round: one consolidated set of feedback from one named person is a different thing from a stream of comments. Then check how work outside the scope is handled. Ask for the process in the proposal: how a change is flagged, how it is priced and who approves it before work starts.
Payments, and what happens if the project stops
Payments tied to stage approvals are easier to reason about than a single large payment on either end. Check two things. First, when does the transfer of rights happen: on delivery, or on final payment? Second, if either side ends the project early, what do you receive for what you have paid? A proposal that does not say is not wrong, but you will be negotiating that point at the worst possible moment.
Portfolio rights and confidentiality
Studios often want to show finished work. That is reasonable, but it should be agreed, not assumed. Ask whether the studio may show the work, in what form and from when, and whether anything must stay private until you launch. We show client work only with the client’s permission, and that is the standard worth asking every studio for.
A worked example
This is an illustration, not a real quote. Two proposals arrive for the same identity project.
Quote A: a lower total. It lists the files, says “all rights transferred” without a period or territory, does not mention which fonts are used, and says nothing about revisions beyond “changes included”.
Quote B: a higher total. It lists the files, states how many review rounds there are and what counts as one, names the fonts and confirms their licence covers print and web, sets out when the rights pass to you and for what term and territory, and ties payments to stage approvals.
On the first read, A is cheaper. After the written-answer count, A answers three of eight areas and B answers eight. The honest comparison is not “A costs less”. It is “A has five open questions”. Send them to the studio. Some may come back answered at no extra cost, and then A may well be the right choice. If they do not, you know what the lower total was leaving out.
Red flags in the terms
- Ownership is not mentioned, or the wording is “full rights” with no assignment, period or territory.
- Fonts and images are not named, so you cannot tell what you are licensed to use.
- “Unlimited revisions” with no definition of a round or a decision-maker.
- Payment is entirely up front or entirely at the end, with no link to approved stages.
- No exclusions listed. Every project leaves something out.
- Promises of leads, revenue or rankings from the design alone. Design helps a business present itself clearly. What follows depends on much more than design.
How we handle this
Our proposals set out the scope, stages, review points and files before work starts, and the number of review rounds is stated in each one. The process page shows how a project runs, and the brand identity service page explains what is covered and what affects scope. The case study for Julia Simpson shows the kind of finished, itemised set a clear proposal should lead to.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns a logo designed by an agency in India?
By default the author is the first owner of the copyright, and the exceptions do not obviously cover a brand identity. So ownership usually passes to you by written assignment, signed by the studio, that identifies the work, the rights, the duration and the territory. Ask for that wording in the proposal, and have a lawyer check it.
Is a copyright assignment the same as a trademark registration?
No. An assignment moves the copyright in the artwork to you. A trademark registration is a separate application that protects the logo or name as a brand for particular goods or services. Most design quotes exclude registration, so ask what, if anything, the studio does to prepare for it.
Can I use a free font in my logo?
Sometimes, but check the licence for that font. Free fonts come with terms, and some restrict commercial or logo use. Ask the studio to confirm in writing that every font in the identity can be used in print, on the web and in apps.
When should the final payment be due?
There is no single rule. What matters is that payments are tied to named stages, and that the proposal says when the rights in the final work pass to you and what happens if the project ends early. Ask for both before you accept.
Can an agency show my project in its portfolio?
Only if you agree. It is fair to ask that this is stated in the proposal, along with when the work can be shown and whether anything stays private until your launch.
How do I compare two branding quotes?
Count how many of the eight areas each quote states in writing, then send the open questions to each studio. Compare the totals only after the answers come back, because two totals can describe very different amounts of work.
Next step
Choosing a studio? Send us your brief and we will reply with what we would include, what we would leave out and how rights and files are handled, so you have something specific to compare.
