Monday, June 18, 2018

What is a “Work For Hire” and Why Does it Matter?

United States copyright law grants the creator of any creative work the right to their creation. It means that a creator has the exclusive right to their work, and the right to make copies, make derivative works, and distribute the work. There are, however, exceptions to this right. One exception is the doctrine of “fair use,” and another is the creation of a “work for hire.”

What is a “work for hire?” If you create something as an employee, your employer owns the copyright on your creation as a work for hire from the moment you create it. This means that you may have zero interest, legally speaking, in the work that you created.  Under the copyright law, a “work for hire” is created by regular employees in the course of their work for the employer and during the scope of their employment, or by an independent contractor if there is a written agreement between the parties that the work is a “work for hire” and the creative work falls into one of nine categories set forth in the Copyright Act.

If you are “employed” in a traditional sense, in that you are paid hourly, show up at a specified time, and receive benefits from your employer, then you are an employee for copyright purposes. Your employer owns the content that you create during your work, and within the scope of your employment. What does “scope of employment” mean? If your job is to create videos about your employers’ business, then video content would be in your “scope of employment.” If you used your employer’s computer to write a novel during your lunch break, then this would be without the scope of your employment, and you would own the copyright to that work. Whatever you create outside the scope of your employment during your own time belongs to you. The best practice, however, is to make sure that all this is spelled out in your employment agreement.

This work for hire issue may be problematic if you are a creative professional or hire creative professionals who work for you creating videos, blog posts, or any other creative works. So be sure and sign a “Work for Hire” Agreement if you are hiring a creative and want to own the rights to the content that is created. If you are a creative who wants to keep control over your creative works, then create a contract with your clients that specifies that you will retain the copyright on the creation, and that you are licensing the creative work to your client for a specific purpose.

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What is a “Work For Hire” and Why Does it Matter? posted first on https://trademarkdoctor.wordpress.com

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