A
work made for hire (sometimes abbreviated as
work for hire or
WFH) is a work created by an employee as part of his or her job, or some limited types of works where all parties agree in writing to the WFH designation. Work for hire is a statutorily defined term (17 U.S.C. § 101), so a work for hire is not created merely because parties to an agreement state that the work is a work for hire. It is an exception to the general rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally recognized author of that work. According to
copyright law in the United States and certain other copyright jurisdictions, if a work is "made for hire", the employer—not the employee—is considered the legal author. In some countries, this is known as
corporate authorship. The entity serving as an employer may be a corporation or other legal entity, an organization, or an individual.