What Is Work for Hire?

Work for hire is a copyright doctrine under which a commissioned work is owned by the commissioning party from the moment of creation, making the commissioner, not the creator, the legal author. In sonic branding it is the standard structure for bespoke brand music, giving the client full ownership of the finished work.

Work for Hire in Practice

The term comes from the United States Copyright Act of 1976, which recognises two routes: work created by an employee within the scope of employment, and specially commissioned work in certain categories agreed in writing. The landmark case is Community for Creative Non-Violence v Reid (1989), in which the US Supreme Court ruled that a commissioned sculpture was not a work for hire because the sculptor was an independent contractor, not an employee. Commissioned music does not always fit the statutory categories either, so well-drafted sonic branding contracts pair work-for-hire language with a full copyright assignment as a fallback. In the UK and much of the world the doctrine has no direct equivalent, and ownership passes by written assignment instead.

Famous Example

Community for Creative Non-Violence v Reid (1989), the defining US Supreme Court work-for-hire ruling