Freelancing: Understanding The Run For Hire Agreement

U.S.A. of America copyright laws tin last out far confusing to figure out what rights y'all nonetheless ain later on selling your last to an editor. Do y'all nonetheless convey total rights to your work, or partial rights? Aspiring writers, especially, powerfulness convey the simulated belief that they nonetheless convey total ownership of their articles later on they convey sold them. In or so situations, this is true, depending on what publication rights editors are purchasing. However, inward a "work for hire" agreement, this is false. The principal premise of a "work for hire" agency that the employer owns the copyright of the work. 

For example, if y'all are "employed" to write occupation organisation memos for an office, those memos last out the copyright of the employer, non you. 

Whenever an editor, business, organization, or entrepreneur wants to "hire" y'all to utilization something, y'all must uncovering out if it is a "work for hire" chore or not. Under a "work for hire" arrangement, U.S.A. of America copyright laws recognize the customer every bit the employer as well as the freelancer every bit the temporary employee, thence recognizing the customer every bit the copyright holder.

FACT: Most freelance writing jobs are non "work for hire." Whenever y'all utilization a slice of work, finished or not, U.S.A. of America copyright laws automatically recognize y'all every bit the creator as well as possessor of the work. Things last out tricky when y'all desire to license or sell your work. Who owns what of your last when y'all sell it? And utilization these rights revert dorsum to you? It depends on what publication rights y'all license.

Insider Tip 1: If an employer hires y'all to write a serial of articles nether a "work for hire," so all rights belong to the employer, non you. However, if y'all utilization last non specified inward the "work for hire" agreement, so y'all ain total copyright of the work, non the employer. 

Insider Tip 2: If or so other freelance author hires y'all nether a "work for hire" to utilization a serial of articles, so all rights belong to the freelancer, non you, fifty-fifty though y'all are a freelancer yourself. The transfer of copyright is automatic. 

U.S.A. of America copyright laws exclusively let industrial plant to last out "works-for-hire" nether specific circumstances:

1. Prior to the freelancer starting the work, both parties must sign a document agreeing that the chore is a work-for-hire. Usually this document is called a "Work for Hire" Agreement or Contract.

2. The employer must specially guild or committee the freelancer to utilization the work; the last cannot already exist.

3. The last must autumn into i of ix categories: 1) supplementary work, 2) answer fabric for a test, 3) an instructional text, 4) a compilation, 5) a test, 6) an atlas, 7) a translation, 8) a contribution to a collective last (i.e., magazine, website, journal), or 9) a contribution to an audiovisual work.

Here is a sample WFH Agreement:



Related links:
Publication Rights for Freelance Writers
Free Online Plagiarism Checkers

I welcome your corrections, suggestions, or comments.

Sincerely,
Brian Scott

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