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QUESTION: What is a “work made for hire”?

ANSWER:

Although the general rule is that the person who creates the work is its author, there is an exception to that principle. The exception is a “work made for hire,” which is a work:

(i) prepared by an employee within the scope of employment, or
(ii) specially ordered or commissioned and where the parties have a signed document expressly stating the work is made for hire.

The employer or commissioning party of a work made for hire is considered the author.

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