Work Made for Hire
Definition
A legal concept where a creative work is considered owned by the person or company who commissioned it, not the person who created it. In film, crew members and writers are often hired under work-for-hire agreements, meaning the production company owns their contributions. Without a work-for-hire agreement or assignment of rights, a crew member could theoretically claim ownership of their work.
Example
You hire a cinematographer under a work-for-hire agreement. All footage they shoot during production is owned by your production company, not by the cinematographer. They cannot later demand payment or revoke permission to use the footage.
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