Work For Hire is one of the most complex documents that unfortunately strips away all the rights the creative freelancers have left when they agree to work under that title and deliver the work to the client.
Whenever I redact my WFH contracts I usually start the document explaining what it is about, the conditions of how it works, and lastly mention all 8 elements that consider any work as a WFH. Here is the following of the first page:
Under Section 101 of the Copyright Act (title 17 of the US Code) Circular # 30 establishes that Work for Hire is when a hiring of the artist and its services occurs to perform a type of work where the client establishes objectives and requirements to meet within a certain time and/or location.
• All work done under this concept, the Artist will resign all copyright, ownership, and economic rights and will be automatically transferred to the Client.
• The employer determines the type of payment and the established time (calendar) to deliver the files.
• The artist will sign the contract as an independent contractor under the Work For Hire law of their jurisdiction Copyright Act.
• Both parties mutually agree in a written and signed contract that the work will be Work for Hire.
• Work is considered Work for Hire if it falls under one of the 8 categories established in Circular # 30 below.
The law defines a “supplementary work” as a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes.
Work For Hire is an unfair practice that deprives the artist of the moral rights of paternity and the right to be recognized as the author of a work.
Graphic Artist Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines 14 Edition
A) Type of Payment
How much is the percentage of the advance payment, dates to deliver payments, details of the payment plan (if applicable), the deadline for the client to start the advance payment After signing the contract, the deadline to pay the outstanding amounts after delivering receipts, payment methods, tax payment amount, and amount or percentage to pay if the client has late payments.
B) Expenses (reimbursement from the client to the artist)
Explain what elements the client must pay to the artist such as licenses, workshops, lodging, and transportation, among other things, since they are elements that incur extra expenses that are not the responsibility of the artist and there is the possibility of not being part of the contract at the beginning.
C) Changes
How many revisions does the client have per design, how much will the additional revision cost, and What happens if the client asks for unjustified changes?
D) Termination
How many days do the parties have to cancel the contract? What will happen to the rights of the worked pieces (whether the client pays for them or not)? What type of penalty entail if the client abandons the project after certain days without prior and appropriate notification to the artist? Under what terms can the artist completely cancel the project, regardless of what the client has paid? How much money will the artist refund the client in specific circumstances described in the clause?
E) Properties of the Works
Who has the rights to the pieces worked, both final and preliminary? Including whether there are outstanding debts…
F) Modifications
Explain the procedures for the modification of contracts and if they carry any type of burden or penalty.
G) Confidentiality
Both parties are obligated to keep all information confidential and secure.
H) Extra service
Service or products that were not previously agreed upon in the contract, but can be performed by the artist and specify what type of charges it entails.
I) Penalties
Describe the consequences when the client requests additional proofreading, spelling correction, redesign, late payments, lost documents, or rushed delivery.
J) Force Majeure
Protect the artist from being penalized for not being able to complete the work under circumstances outside of her control (protest, catastrophe) and what kind of solutions the artist can provide.
K) Limitation Of Liability
Limits the obligation of a contracting party, damages are sometimes limited to a predetermined financial sum for a part of the contract or transaction.
L) Liability Guarantee
The artist has made the decisions with caution and promises that he maintains a process and format that is ethical and incapable of infringement.
M) Indemnification
Allows one party to file a claim against the other party (from the contract) for physical, emotional, or monetary harm, even if the harm claim was from a third party.
N) Artistic Release
The artist is hired and prepares the work as it is presented according to his skills and techniques.
O) Non-Compete Agreements
This clause may exist in a contract requiring any party involved not to work with competitors.
P) Pause Period
The client is allowed to resume the project without penalty when it is paused due to a circumstance beyond his or her control. This also includes a stipulated limit (ex. 3 months) for the client’s pause period to expire.
Q) Conflict Resolution
A mutually agreed upon course of action to resolve a disagreement or breach of contract between the parties involved without reliance on a judicial entity.
R) Guarantee Of Originality
The artist guarantees and declares that his works and his procedures are legal and original.
S) Term Of Acceptance
The contract is concluded with the signature of the parties involved
Artists should be alert to the language of any clause that purchases “all electronic rights” or “all rights in all media now existing or hereafter invented in perpetuity throughout the universe.” Give the buyer unspecified, indefinite use of a Creator’s work without additional compensation.
Graphic Artist Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines 14 Edition
Did you read The Importance Of Creating A Contract Part 1 and Part 2? Don’t forget to bookmark the other post about how to build contracts for Work For Hire, Commission, Licensing of Use and Estimate, Invoice, and Receipt. If you love to try my contracts, click the link below, they have everything you need with ready, editable templates and free updates via emails.
NOTE: I want to emphasize that this post is for educational purposes, legal information is not the same as legal advice. Therefore, it is recommended that you consult with a lawyer to obtain more professional guidance in the legal field.
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