Who Owns the Copyright Under the Work-for-Hire Doctrine?

Under standard copyright law, an author owns the copyright the moment the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression – written down, recorded, photographed, or saved to a hard drive. The work-for-hire doctrine creates an exception: when work qualifies as work-for-hire, the employer or commissioning party – not the creator – is considered the legal author and copyright owner from the moment the work is created.... By: Hendershot Cowart P.C.