I'm a bit concerned about the form of the copyright clause. It says it is creating a "work for hire", but then goes on to clearly describe something that is NOT a "work for hire".
If a work is a "work for hire", the employer IS THE AUTHOR as far as copyright law is concerned. As soon as the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression (i.e., as soon as the programmer types the code in his editor) the copyright springs into existence, and the owner of that copyright is the employer. See 17 USC 201(b).
The clause in the article talks about the copyright being transferred to the employer after the contractor is paid, and says that before that the copyright is owned by the contractor. In other words, it is NOT a work for hire.
From the discussion in the article, the purpose for this clause is so that if the employer does not pay, the contractor can use copyright law against them. Thus it is clear that the contractor in fact does not wish to create a work for hire situation.
So why use the "work for hire" language? You are just asking for trouble--in a dispute the employer will argue that you intended to create a work for hire situation and that the other language about transferring rights should be tossed out (contract ambiguities generally are interpreted against the drafter).
I don't think they would succeed in this, but why the heck would you want to even give them it as an issue?
If a work is a "work for hire", the employer IS THE AUTHOR as far as copyright law is concerned. As soon as the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression (i.e., as soon as the programmer types the code in his editor) the copyright springs into existence, and the owner of that copyright is the employer. See 17 USC 201(b).
The clause in the article talks about the copyright being transferred to the employer after the contractor is paid, and says that before that the copyright is owned by the contractor. In other words, it is NOT a work for hire.
From the discussion in the article, the purpose for this clause is so that if the employer does not pay, the contractor can use copyright law against them. Thus it is clear that the contractor in fact does not wish to create a work for hire situation.
So why use the "work for hire" language? You are just asking for trouble--in a dispute the employer will argue that you intended to create a work for hire situation and that the other language about transferring rights should be tossed out (contract ambiguities generally are interpreted against the drafter).
I don't think they would succeed in this, but why the heck would you want to even give them it as an issue?