---
title: "Work made for hire clause"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/us-work-made-for-hire-clause"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a23-us-work-made-for-hire-clause"
area_id: "A23"
kind: "clause"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A23-T1-R11", "A23-B7-4", "A23-B8-2"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Work made for hire clause

> Clause for a work made for hire on or after 1 January 1978, using the two paths in Copyright Office Circular 30. A commissioned work must be in one of the nine categories and the writing must be signed by both parties.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/us-work-made-for-hire-clause  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

Clause for a work made for hire on or after 1 January 1978, using the two paths in Copyright Office Circular 30. A commissioned work must be in one of the nine categories and the writing must be signed by both parties. Anything else is an assignment, not this clause.

## Key facts

- Kind: Clause. Wording to drop into a longer document.
- Practice area: [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md)
- Jurisdictions: United States
- AI level: Yellow. You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-22
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-22 against the 2 authorities it cites, for United States.

## When to use it

Use inside an employment or commissioning agreement when the client wants the hiring party to be the author. Do not use the commissioned path for a website, software or a logo unless that work really is one of the nine categories. Do not use it to fix ownership after the fact.

## Used for these tasks

- [Draft an IP licence or assignment from the term sheet](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/draft-an-ip-licence-or-assignment-from-the-term-sheet.md)
- [Draft an IP clause set for an AI development or data-licensing agreement](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/draft-an-ip-clause-set-for-an-ai-development-or-data-licensing-agreement.md)
- [Draft AI IP clauses for a services agreement](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/draft-ai-ip-clauses-for-a-services-agreement.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may insert this clause and tick the category the lawyer has already chosen. The lawyer decides whether the person is an employee and whether a commissioned work is in one of the nine categories.

**AI may:**

- Insert the employee path or the commissioned path as the lawyer directs
- List the deliverables against the nine categories and mark any that the lawyer has not classified
- Point to the copyright-assignment form when the commissioned path does not fit

**AI must not:**

- Must not decide that a contractor is an employee, or that software, a logo or a website is in one of the nine categories
- Must not state a term of years for a work made for hire
- Must not add agency-law factors beyond the questions Circular 30 sets out

**The lawyer checks:**

- Employee status and scope of employment are decided on the facts, under the general common law of agency as Circular 30 describes it
- A commissioned work is in one of the nine categories, the writing is signed by both parties, and it says the work shall be considered a work made for hire
- If any of those fail, the copyright-assignment form is used and is signed by the owner

## Authorities

- [U.S. Copyright Office Circular 30: Works Made for Hire](https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ30.pdf)
- [17 U.S.C. § 204(a) (writing required if ownership is transferred and the work is not made for hire)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/204)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/us-work-made-for-hire-clause and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*