Generally speaking, the person who creates a work is the author, and therefore the copyright owner of that work. However, there is an exception to this principle in Section 110 of the U.S. Copyright Act. The copyright law specifically designates a special category of works called "works made for hire." If a work is made for hire — i.e. it was prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment — then the employer, and not the employee, is considered the author. In such cases the employer may be a firm, an organization, or even a university.

More information regarding works for hire, and specifically the University of Idaho's policy thereof, can be found in the following two sections of the UI Faculty-Staff Handbook: FHS 5300 (Copyrights, Protectable Discoveries, and Other Intellectual Property Rights) and FHS 5400 (Employment Agreement Concerning Patents and Copyrights).

Additional Resources

Works Made for Hire Under the 1976 Copyright Act (US Copyright Office, Circular 9)