Do I still have rights to content I was hired to create?

Post date: 2018-07-19 13:35:12

I was hired to create content for a guy. We never had a written contract--only verbal agreement. Guy suddenly wants to stop paying before project ends. Can I still retain my rights to the content and finish the project on my own?

Location: California

tl;dr: I feel like I'm being screwed by guy who hired me and I want to know my rights to the content I created.

Background:
As a hobby, I run a public social group where I create and host events for people. I sometimes charge for events, but I never take any of the money for myself (it all goes back to the group).

I recently met a guy, say Bob, who runs a private event company. I had an idea for an open-ended roleplaying type of event (similar to RPGs), and he hired me to create that event. We never signed a contract, but had a handshake agreement that he would pay me hourly to create this event, and I would give up IP rights to him and his company (AKA I would agree to not do this event without his permission).

For awhile, I was paid as agreed while we created this event together. We were going to test the first iteration of this event on my group. However, in the homestretch just weeks before the event, Bob emailed me he wasn't going to pay me anymore for the remainder of the project. Since that seems like a terrible deal for me, I also just want to back out and never associate with him again. I've stopped doing any work for him, and we also never ran the event as originally agreed.

Advice please:
I want to finish building this event on my own without his permission and possibly run other types of events like this in the future with my group. Where do I stand legally in terms of copyright for this event and for future similar types of events, especially if I might want to charge for the event? I'm open to potentially redesigning with a different theme, but it may be hard to redesign with completely new mechanics.

Specific concerns based on my research into (IP) law:

1) Are we still considered coauthors, even though I was paid for some duration of this project? Or am I work for hire and gave up my copyrights even though there was no explicit contract?

2) How much of the content that we've created together can I use? Can I at least safely recreate this event with different themes, even if the game mechanics might be the same/similar?

3) What are recommended next steps? This is a hobby and I'd rather avoid sinking more money into this, and I would like to avoid any legal battles.

Thanks for any advice/clarifications about the law you can provide!

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