Who owns raw footage? I am working at a Multimedia Production placement for my college course for a company that wants a promotional video. I shot about 4 hours of video.

They believe claim that I have no right to use the raw footage that I shot for anything (including my own portfolio) and that they have the right to full access of the raw &amp; audio footage that I shot.

In order to avoid escalating the situation, I didn't say anything because right now, I am the sole holder of all the raw footage files.

They want to be able to use the footage I shot for their projects in the future and I doubt credit will be given to me for the footage.

Do I have the right to put a watermark on the footage before I give it to them?
Do they have the right to the raw footage, or ONLY the finished product which I am producing for them?

I signed a generic contract when I went into this placement, but the form mentioned nothing about media (as this is a hospital). So what is the default rule of thumb about the rights to this footage?

I am not sure if it makes a difference, but I am in Canada
I am not a lawyer, but I played one on TV.

If the contract wasn't specific then you might have some wiggle room. Typically contract law (varies by state) says that if the contract is unclear then it favors the person who didn't write it. So if they provided you an unclear contract it favors you when it isn't clear.

Unfortunately if they hired you to create the "work" of the footage, then it may be a "work for hire":


  A "work made for hire" is— (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. (17 U.S.C. § 101)


Read up on work for hire, but generally speaking, unless the contract states otherwise, if you are hired / contracted to create something, the party paying you owns your work.

BTW, to be a work for hire doesn't mean they paid you cash. They could be paying you in work experience.