---
title: "Statement of work"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/us-statement-of-work"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a24-us-statement-of-work"
area_id: "A24"
kind: "agreement"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A24-A20260923-2", "A24-T1-R8"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-22"
---

# Statement of work

> Statement of work for services under a master agreement: scope, milestones, fees and acceptance. Copyright in deliverables stays with the creator unless a signed assignment or a real work-made-for-hire path is used.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/us-statement-of-work  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-22

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

## Key facts

- Kind: Agreement. A contract between two or more parties.
- Practice area: [Technology, Media & Telecommunications / IT Contracts](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts.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 3 authorities it cites, for United States.

## When to use it

Use to record one project under a signed master agreement. Do not use it as the only contract if there is no master, unless counsel adds the missing commercial terms. Do not tick work made for hire unless Circular 30's conditions are met.

## Used for these tasks

- [Draft a statement of work from the proposal and the MSA](https://ailawframework.com/practice/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/draft-a-statement-of-work-from-the-proposal-and-the-msa.md)
- [Draft an outsourcing or managed-services structure from the term sheet](https://ailawframework.com/practice/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/draft-an-outsourcing-or-managed-services-structure-from-the-term-sheet.md)

## How AI may be used

AI may turn an approved proposal into the scope, milestone and fee tables. The lawyer chooses licence, assignment or work made for hire, and checks that the master agreement is the one named.

**AI may:**

- Fill scope, dates and fees from the proposal the lawyer has approved
- List deliverables that have no intellectual-property choice and mark them
- Check that the named master agreement matches the file

**AI must not:**

- Must not tick work made for hire for software, a logo or a website unless the lawyer has named one of the nine categories
- Must not treat this statement as an assignment unless the owner signs it
- Must not add acceptance criteria the proposal does not contain

**The lawyer checks:**

- The master agreement named is the contract that governs, and conflicts are resolved the way section 7 says
- Each deliverable is a licence, an assignment signed by the owner, or a work made for hire that meets Circular 30
- Fees and acceptance match the commercial instructions

## Authorities

- [17 U.S.C. § 204(a) (signed writing for a transfer of copyright ownership)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/204)
- [U.S. Copyright Office Circular 30: Works Made for Hire](https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ30.pdf)
- [15 U.S.C. § 7001 (electronic signatures)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7001)

## 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/technology-media-and-telecommunications-it-contracts/us-statement-of-work 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.*