A work-for-hire usually refers to a copyright work (or other intellectual property) created by a contractor who is not an employee. Ownership, or prospective ownership of copyright works made by contractors or consultants is very much a creature of local contract and employment law (National law, and in the US state and federal law) and should be approached with caution. In this entry we avoid generalised statements for this reason.
U.S. copyright law provides that the creator of a work specifically commissioned by another may have transferred all rights to the commissioner. In general, for the work-for-hire rule to apply, the work must have been created after commissioning, not before. Musical composers and authors should approach work for hire clauses with caution. Most commercial software created by employees is a work-for-hire. See shop right.
The law of other jurisdictions may be similar, but different in important ways. Most if not all jurisdictions require transfers of ownership of a copyright to be in written form – since they simultaneously vest ownership of a copyright in the person creating the work unless they are an employee (where it is vested in the employer if the work is created as part of their job, i.e., ‘in the course of their employment’), that a work-for-hire is transferred to the hirer/contractor usually needs to be reasonably explicitly stated in the contract. A failure of clarity can be a major pitfall in development agreements. This question can be very fact specific and can turn on issues such as the project description, local employment law, corporate structures, etc.