What is a “work for hire”?
A work made for hire is: 1) A work prepared by an employee within the scope of the employee’s employment. or 2) A work specially ordered or commissioned for us as a contribution to a collective work, such 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.
A “work for hire” is a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment, or a work specially ordered or commissioned, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire (from Technology and Copyright Law, p.159). For a definition and discussion of a “work for hire”, see: http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/whowns.
