Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices, Third Edition
- agreement specifically stating that Donald would create the photograph for the CD as a work made for hire.
- An application for a documentary names Tim Berger as the sole author of the work. The work made for hire question is answered “yes.” The credits at the end of the documentary name Tim as the sole producer and director of the work, along with other individuals who apparently contributed camerawork, writing, animation, and other forms of authorship. The registration specialist will register the claim without communicating with the applicant. Because a part of a motion picture is one of the nine categories of works that may be specially ordered or commissioned, the specialist will assume that Tim signed a written agreement with the other individuals specifying that their contributions would be considered a work made for hire.
Examples: Application questioned
- Elsa Frankfurter is named as the author of an architectural work with the work made for hire box checked “yes.” The deposit copy contains a copyright notice stating “© 2011 Achtung GmbH.” Because a corporation is named in the copyright notice, the registration specialist may ask the applicant if Elsa created this work as an employee of Achtung GmbH. If so, the specialist will ask for permission to remove Elsa’s name from the application and to add the corporation’s name as the author and claimant.
- An application is submitted for a comic book. Josh Willoughby is named as the sole author of the work and the work made for hire box is checked “yes.” The copy names Josh as the author of the “text” and Harley Quince as the author of the “illustrations.” The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant. It appears that Josh hired Harley to create the illustrations pursuant to a work made for hire agreement, and that Josh is the sole author of the text. If that is the case, Josh should be named on the application as both the author of the text (work made for hire answered “no”) and the author of the illustrations (work made for hire answered “yes”).
For more information on works made for hire see Chapter 500, Section 506.1.
614.2(B)(7) Individual and Incorporated Organization Named Together as the Authors of a Work Made for Hire
If an individual and an incorporated entity (e.g., a corporation, a professional corporation, a limited liability company, etc.) are named together as the authors of the work, the registration specialist will conclude that the organization is a separate legal entity, rather than an assumed name or trade name for the individual (regardless of how the work made for hire question is answered).
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12/22/2014
