Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
- assignment. The jingle is not a work made for hire because Aaron was not an employee of WMAP. In the application to register this jingle, Aaron should be named as the author and the work made for hire box should be checked “no.”
- Julianne Ziegler prepared the first draft for a screenplay titled “Princesses vs. Zombies.” After completing the first draft, Zombieflix LLC asked Julianne to prepare a shooting script based on her screenplay. The first draft of this screenplay is not a work made for hire, because Julianne completed the draft before she was hired by Zombieflix LLC. In the application to register the first draft, Julianne should be named as the author and the work made for hire box should be checked “no.”
- Marilyn Chariott works for an accounting firm. She wrote a song titled “Buy the Numbers” in her spare time and someday she hopes to be hired as a singer/songwriter. Marilyn’s song is not a work made for hire, because she did not write this song for her current employer. In the application to register “Buy the Numbers,” Marilyn should be named as the author and the work made for hire box should be checked “no.”
506.3 Works Specially Ordered or Commissioned as a Work Made for Hire
A specially ordered or commissioned work is considered a work made for hire if it satisfies the following criteria:
- The work must fall within one or more of the nine categories of works listed in the statutory definition.
- There must be an express written agreement between the party that ordered or commissioned the work and the individual(s) that actually created the work.
- The agreement must state that the work shall be considered a work made for hire.
- The agreement must be signed by both parties.
If a work fails to satisfy all of these requirements, it does not qualify as a work made for hire.
The following examples illustrate some of the factors that may indicate whether a work does or does not qualify as a work made for hire under the second part of the statutory definition.
Works specially ordered or commissioned pursuant to a written agreement specifying that the work will be created as a work made for hire
- Lighthouse Books Inc. is the author of a textbook. The company hired Nous Traduisons Inc. to translate this work from English into French. Before Nous Traduisons began working on this project, the parties signed a written agreement stating that Nous Traduisons would translate the textbook for Lighthouse Books as a work made for hire. The work satisfies the second part of the statutory definition, because a translation is one of the nine categories of works that may be specially
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12/22/2014
