Yes, I'm aware of that. What my attorney told me (he's an intellectual property attorney), there are additional clauses that makes things different for software.

I think this whole discussion supports what I've said many times. You need to consult your own attorney and not rely on what others tell you.

Some additional information on work made for hire is here:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ09.pdf

Here's part of what it says (emphasis is the same as original):

DETERMINING WHETHER A WORK IS MADE FOR HIRE
Whether or not a particular work is made for hire is determined by the relationship between the parties. This determination may be difficult, because the statutory definition of a work made for hire is complex and not always easily applied. That definition was the focus of a 1989 Supreme Court decision (Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730 [1989]). The court held that to determine whether a work is made for hire, one must first ascertain whether the work was prepared by (1) an employee or (2) an independent contractor.
If a work is created by an employee, part 1 of the statutory definition applies, and generally the work would be considered a work made for hire. IMPORTANT: The term“employee” here is not really the same as the common understanding of the term; for copyright purposes, it means an employee under the general common law of agency. This is explained in further detail below. Please read about this at “Employer-Employee Relationship Under Agency Law.” If a work is created by an independent contractor (that is, someone who is not an employee under the general common law of agency), then the work is a specially ordered or commissioned work, and part 2 of the statutory definition applies. Such a work can be a work made for hire only if both of the following conditions are met: (1) it comes within one of the nine categories of works listed in part 2 of the definition and (2) there is a written agreement between the parties specifying that the work is a work made for hire.

I've just reread my standard contract. It specifies that I am an independent contractor. It says nothing about "work made for hire". It also states that I maintain all copyrights until such time as the client accepts the work as complete. At that time, I provide a list of "library" routines to which I maintain copyrights. All other code ownership is then transferred to the client.


>You may find this interesting then:
>
>What is a work made for hire?
>Although the general rule is that the person who creates the work is its author, there is an exception to that principle; the exception is a work made for hire, which is a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or a work specially ordered or commissioned in certain specified circumstances. When a work qualifies as a work made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is considered to be the author. See Circular 9.
>
>from
>
>http://www.copyright.gov/faq.html#q35
>
>Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.
>
>In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author. Section 101 of the copyright law defines a "work made for hire" as:
>
>(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
>(2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:
>a contribution to a collective work
>a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
>a translation
>a supplementary work
>a compilation
>an instructional text
>a test
>answer material for a test
>a sound recording
>an atlas
>if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire....
>
>The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
>
>Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.
>
>
>
>
>Tracy
>
>>>It's my understanding that the words "work for hire" totally change the meaning of any contract, and therefore, copyrights end up with the company that "hired" the consultant. However, if you don't have a contract .. or the contract doesn't say "work for hire" and doesn't say specifically who gets the copyright .. the copyright defaults to the author. But then again .. I'm not a lawyer <g>.
>>>
>>
>>If that's the case, there is a problem with my contracts, which have been reviewed by my attorney.