Pitch Dictionary by pitch.dog
Contracts, memos & negotiation instruments · Working

Work made for hire

Also called: work for hire

ELI5

An arrangement where the hiring party is treated as the legal author or owner under applicable law.

Used in conversation

“Has legal checked how work made for hire applies to this project?”

Definition

A U.S.-specific legal category in which qualifying work is treated as authored by the hiring party for copyright purposes.

Here “Work made for hire” means: A U.S.-specific legal category in which qualifying work is treated as authored by the hiring party for copyright purposes.

Pitch context

You may encounter “Work made for hire” in rights, contracts, finance, distribution & labour conversations or materials.

Why it matters: Explains who controls, pays for, approves, exploits or bears risk around a project.

Caution

Meaning and consequences may change by contract, collective agreement, territory or law. This entry is orientation, not legal advice.

Connected terms

  • Commissioned workA commissioned work is created under a commission; it is work made for hire only where the relevant law and contract satisfy that doctrine.
Sources & evidence · 8

Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.