This is lesson #2 in a series.

What the heck does it mean when a contract says you’re doing your work as a “work for hire”?

Very simply it means you won’t own the copyright to the work you create.

But what does that mean mean?

Does that mean you can’t use the work in your portfolio?

Does it impact what you’ll get paid?

Is it always a horrible, very bad, no good situation?

In this class you’ll learn:

The legal meaning of “work for hire”
When “work for hire” applies and how to recognize it
What you can do to protect yourself if your day job is similar to your creative work; and
What kinds of projects “work for hire” is good for (and what it’s not!)

We'll also dig into some of the things that can be tricky on "work for hire" jobs: getting paid, using the work in your portfolio, and making sure the terms only apply to the work you are OK not owning.

This class is designed for creative freelancers of all experience levels, but has helpful, practical information anyone doing creative work can use.

This class focuses on U.S. Copyright law and the issues that commonly arise in U.S. based contracts.

Don't miss the other Contracts for Creative Freelancers classes: How to Fix Bad Contract Terms and Payment Terms: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

Credits for all images and music used in this class are contained in a PDF in the Class Project section. The PDF contains links to each image and the music track used.

Jessica Epting

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