Copyright Act, definition of a work made for hire (17 U.S.C. 101 (definition of "work made for hire"))
Code an employee writes in the course of the job belongs to the company. Code a contractor writes is a work made for hire only in the listed categories and with a signed agreement, so ordinary contracted software usually needs a written assignment before the company can license it.
Dated 17 Oct 2026Source checked 17 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
In the source's own words
“A “work made for hire” is— (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, 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.”
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