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Copyright Work Made For Hire Doctrine

A Copyright is an exclusive legal right granted to the creator of an original work to license, copy, sell, distribute, or otherwise exploit the work for his or her own benefit.
Venable LLP

Understanding the Work Made for Hire Doctrine in Copyright Law - Part 2

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As discussed in Part 1, understanding the application of the Copyright Act’s works made for hire doctrine is needed to protect an organization’s intellectual property. Specifically, the application of the doctrine to...more

Venable LLP

Understanding the Work Made for Hire Doctrine in Copyright Law - Part 1

Venable LLP on

Understanding the work made for hire doctrine under the Copyright Act of 1976 is key for effective intellectual property management. The default ownership rule under the Copyright Act provides ownership to the author (i.e.,...more

Jones Day

Court Finds AI-Generated Work Not Copyrightable for Failure to Meet "Human Authorship" Requirement—But Questions Remain

Jones Day on

In Short - The Background: Generative artificial intelligence ("GenAI") tools allow individuals to readily generate content, including works that traditionally would be copyrightable if authored by a human being, such as...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

District Court Rules that AI-Generated Works Cannot Be Copyrighted

The D.C. district court recently affirmed the U.S. Copyright Office’s position that a work generated entirely by artificial intelligence (AI) technology is not eligible for copyright protection. The case is Stephen Thaler v....more

Miller Nash LLP

Man v. AI Machine: The Continuing Paradise Saga

Miller Nash LLP on

We recently wrote about Dr. Stephen Thaler’s challenge to the Copyright Office’s refusal to register copyright in “A Recent Entrance to Paradise,” in which he has asked a federal appellate court to grant him summary judgment...more

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC

Hero’s Rights - Chapter 2

Welcome back, true believers! We continue our exploration into the Copyright journey of some of our most iconic heroes. It will make it easier to follow if the authors divide the most relevant aspects of this story....more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Moral Rights: Considerations for Companies in the United States

Amundsen Davis LLC on

There are many common misconceptions about copyrights and other rights associated with the ownership and control of a creative work, such as moral rights. These misconceptions often result in poor contract drafting, which can...more

Kidon IP

Legal Protection for the Software Arts — Part 6

Kidon IP on

Due to the size and complexity of computer code, the software is usually created by a team of programmers. Consequently, to fully own software one must first make sure that each of the developers has relinquished any...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Oh the Horror: No Work for Hire in Friday the 13th Screenplay

McDermott Will & Emery on

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a summary judgment grant, ruling that an author was an independent contractor when writing the screenplay for a horror film and entitled to authorship rights, and...more

Foster Garvey PC

Intellectual Property Rights in the Crosshairs as Lawsuits Involving Disney and Facebook Surface

Foster Garvey PC on

- What will the “Endgame” be for the lawsuit between Walt Disney Company and former Marvel comic book creators? In the spring of this year, a host of famed artists and illustrators of Marvel characters such as Iron Man,...more

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Employment Law Issues to Consider Before Including Work Made for Hire Clauses in Contractor Agreements

For most employers, it is important to own the intellectual property rights in written and/or graphic work commissioned from independent contractors. But including a Work Made for Hire Clause (“WMFH Clause”) in an...more

Ruder Ware

Protecting Your Rights: Protecting Works Created by Employees and Independent Contractors

Ruder Ware on

Many businesses work hard and invest heavily to develop and protect their intellectual property rights, including trade secrets and proprietary processes, designs, and know-how. However, special rules apply in determining...more

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig PLLC

Copyright Law: The “Works Made For Hire” Doctrine

Copyright laws were enacted to protect owners of creative works from others claiming or using a work as their own. A work is protected from the time it is created in a fixed form. If a creator produces a work, he is generally...more

Lewitt Hackman

SCOTUS Rejects Georgia’s Bid to Claim Copyright Protection in Official Annotated Codes

Lewitt Hackman on

Long ago the “government edicts doctrine” established that state and federal law is not entitled to copyright protection. Essentially, original works that have the force of law and created by officials in the course of their...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Italian Film Composer “Scores” for Authors

The Second Circuit issued a remarkable decision on termination rights under Sections 203 and 304(c) of the Copyright Act that seemingly, whether knowingly or otherwise, limits the Act’s extraterritorial reach. Ennio Morricone...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

You Have a Creative Genius in the Workplace. Who Owns the Creative Works?

Foley & Lardner LLP on

The cardinal principle of copyright law is deceptively simple. It protects a creative work as it passes from the fevered brow of its creator to something more tangible – a writing pad, an electronic manuscript, a sound...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

The Southern District of New York Finds “Work Made For Hire” Under Italian Copyright Law

Musical scores incorporated into films are usually produced with the specific film in mind. In the U.S., we call such works “works made for hire,” meaning that the artist does not retain authorship rights to the music....more

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C.

If It's Worth It, You Should Work It (As a Work Made for Hire)

With the growth of mobile apps, non-tech companies face the challenge of creating apps to promote and sell their services or goods. Because the creation of an app can be a one-time project, hiring an independent software...more

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