What is Work Made For Hire?

• A. A work created by the author as a solo project.
• B. A work prepared by an employee within the scope of employment OR a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work.
• C. A work published on a blog.
• D. A work created by a student for class assignment.

Answer: (B)

Work made for hire means the employer (or the commissioning party) is considered the author and owns the copyright to the work, rather than the person who created it. This happens in two situations: first, when a work is created by an employee within the scope of the employee’s job; second, when a work is specially ordered or commissioned for use in one of a few specific categories (such as a contribution to a collective work, a translation, a compilation, a supplementary work, an instructional text, a test, etc.) and there is a written agreement stating that it is a work made for hire. In the employee path, no separate agreement is needed because the hiring relationship covers it; in the commissioned path, the written agreement is essential to designate the work as WMFH.

This is why the correct description is the one that includes both: a work by an employee within the scope of employment, or a specially ordered/commissioned work that fits the listed purposes with a written WMFH agreement. Works created outside of an employment or commissioning context (such as a solo project, a blog post, or a student assignment) do not automatically become works made for hire.