Editing Work for hire (section)

== In other countries ==

Some other countries have laws governing the initial copyright ownership of commissioned works or of works created within the scope of an employee's duties:

=== Commonwealth countries ===

==== United Kingdom ====

Under the [[copyright law of the United Kingdom]], the first owner of copyright in a work may be the employer of the person who created it:

{{quote
|text=Where a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or a film, is made by an employee in the course of his employment, his employer is the first owner of any copyright in the work subject to any agreement to the contrary.
|source=[[Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988]], [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/part/I/chapter/I/crossheading/authorship-and-ownership-of-copyright Section 11(2)]
}}

The expression "in the course of employment" is not defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, but in settling disputes, UK courts usually evaluate whether the employee created the work under a "contract of service" (e.g. as an employee) or a "contract for services" (e.g. as a freelancer or independent contractor).<ref name="gov.uk"/> This statute has been compared to the work for hire doctrine in the United States.<ref name="phanse2022"/>

There is currently no provision for initial ownership of copyright in commissioned works to vest in the hiring party; however, prior to 1 August 1989, "the copyright in photographs, portraits and engravings (and only those types of work) which were created as a result of a commission were owned by the commissioner." Under current law, the first owner of copyright in any commissioned work is the person or organization that created it, but there may be an [[implied license|implied non-exclusive license]] for the hiring party to use the work for the purpose for which it was commissioned.<ref name="gov.uk">{{OGL-attribution|inline=x|version=3.0|{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ownership-of-copyright-works|title=Ownership of copyright works|author=[[Intellectual Property Office (United Kingdom)|Intellectual Property Office]]|website=[[gov.uk]]|date=19 August 2014|access-date=21 May 2025}}}}</ref>

==== Canada ====
{{main|Authorship and ownership in copyright law in Canada}}

Section 13 of the Canadian ''[[Copyright Act (Canada)|Copyright Act]]'' provides that the first owner of the copyright in a work is typically the author, except that the copyright for a work made in the course of employment initially vests in the author's employer:

{{Quote
|text=Where the author of a work was in the employment of some other person under a contract of service or apprenticeship and the work was made in the course of his employment by that person, the person by whom the author was employed shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be the first owner of the copyright, but where the work is an article or other contribution to a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical, there shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, be deemed to be reserved to the author a right to restrain the publication of the work, otherwise than as part of a newspaper, magazine or similar periodical.
|source=[https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-42/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-42.html R.S., 1985, c. C-42], s. 13(3)
}}

Prior to June 29, 2012, Section 13(2) provided that the first owner of the copyright in commissioned [[engraving]]s, [[photographs]], and portraits was the person who paid for the works to be made:

{{Quote
|text=Where, in the case of an engraving, photograph or portrait, the plate or other original was ordered by some other person and was made for valuable consideration, and the consideration was paid, in pursuance of that order, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary, the person by whom the plate or other original was ordered shall be the first owner of the copyright.
|source=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110509214917/https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-42/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-42.html R.S., 1985, c. C-42], s. 13(2)
}}

This provision was repealed by the ''[[Copyright Modernization Act]]'', which received royal assent on June 29, 2012.

==== India ====

{{main|Copyright law of India}}

As in the UK, the work for hire doctrine in [[India]] is based on the concept of the ''first owner of copyright''.<ref name="phanse2022"/> Under section 17  of the [[Copyright Act, 1957]], the first owner of the copyright in a work is the author, except in the following cases:

* Copyright in a work made by an employee under a contract of service or apprenticeship vests in the employer, unless the employer and employee agree otherwise. Special rules apply for literary, dramatic, and artistic works created by an employee of a [[newspaper]], [[magazine]], or other [[periodical]].
* If a photograph, painting, portrait, engraving, or film is made "for valuable consideration at the instance of" another person, that person is the first owner of copyright unless agreed otherwise.
* Generally, the first owner of copyright in a [[Public speaking|speech]] is the person delivering the speech. However, if that person is giving the speech on behalf of another person, that person is the first owner of the copyright.
* For works made by the [[government of India]], any "public undertaking" of the Indian government, or an [[international organization]], the first owner of copyright is the organization that produced the work.<ref name="india-copyright-1957">{{cite web|url=https://www.copyright.gov.in/Documents/Copyrightrules1957.pdf|title=The Copyright Act, 1957|publisher=Copyright Office, Government of India|access-date=May 26, 2025}}</ref>

=== Ethiopia ===
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Under the ''Proclamation No. 410/2004 on Copyright and Neighboring Rights Protection'', Article 21/4 ([[Federal Negarit Gazeta]]):
{{Quote
|text=Where the work is a work created by an author employed or Commissioned by a person in the course of his employment or contract of service, unless agreed otherwise, the original owner of the rights shall be the employer or the person who commissioned the work.
}}

=== Philippines ===

The [[copyright law of the Philippines]] provides for allocation of copyright ownership between employees and employers:
{{Quote
|text=In the case of work created by an author during and in the course of his employment, the copyright shall belong to:
(a) The employee, if the creation of the object of copyright is not a part of his regular duties even if the employee uses the time, facilities and materials of the employer.
(b) The employer, if the work is the result of the performance of his regularly-assigned duties, unless there is an agreement, express or implied, to the contrary.
|source=8293/2015 Section 178.3
}}

However, when a work is "commissioned by a person other than an employer of the author", the law provides the client with ownership of the physical copy of the work, but the copyright to the work remains with the creator unless there is a written agreement to the contrary. (8293/2015 Section 178.4)