Chain of title, and why financiers ask for it before anything else
Nobody finances a film they cannot prove you own. Chain of title is the paper trail from every author who touched the material to the entity that will sign the distribution agreement — and it is almost always thinner than the producer believes.
Who owns the work when you hire a freelancer?
Paying a freelancer doesn't transfer copyright. Why 'work made for hire' usually does nothing, and what actually assigns ownership.