808.10 (A) (1) Work Made for Hire Authorship
As described in Section 801.7, a work made for hire is a work that is either (I) prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment, or (ii) specially ordered or commissioned for use in various types of works, including a motion picture. 17 U.S.C. §
101. When a work is “made for hire,” the employer or other party for whom the work
was prepared is considered the author for copyright purposes.
The registration specialist may communicate with the applicant if it appears that the work made for hire portion of the application has been completed incorrectly.
Examples:
• An application for a major theatrical production names A&O Corporation as the author and the work made for hire question is answered “yes.” The production statement on the footage identifies the motion picture as “An A&O Corporation Production.” The application will be accepted.
• An applicant names Drew Corporation as the producer and Mary Crowson as the director and writer of a motion picture. The applicant checks the box indicating that Mary’s contribution was a work made for hire. Drew Corporation is named as the sole claimant, and no transfer statement is provided. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if Mary is an author of this work. Because the work made for hire box was checked “yes” and because Mary was not named as a co-claimant, it seems likely that Drew Corporation is the sole author and that Mary created the work for that company as a work made for hire.
• An applicant names Barry Monroe as the author and the work made for hire question is answered “yes.” XYZ Corporation is named as the claimant and there is no transfer statement. The registration specialist will communicate with the applicant to determine if Barry is an author of this work.
For a general discussion of works made for hire, see Chapter 500, Section 506. For guidance in completing the work made for hire portion of the application, see Chapter 600, Section 614.