Contract with Independent Contractor to Photograph Works of Art for Book - Self-Employed

This contract is a work for hire agreement, which is an exception to the general rule that the person who creates a work is the author of that work and holds all rights to the work product. This is a concept of intellectual property protection outlined in Section 101 of the 1976 Copyright Act. In most cases, the person who creates a copyrightable work -- such as a story, poem, song, essay, sculpture, graphic design, or computer program -- holds the copyright for that work. A copyright is a form of legal protection which gives the holder sole rights to exploit the work for financial gain for a certain period of time, usually 35 years. In contrast, the copyright for a work for hire is owned by the company that hires the person to create the work or pays for the development of the work. The creator holds no rights to a work for hire under the law. Instead, the employer is solely entitled to exploit the work and profit from it. The concept of work for hire is different from the creator transferring ownership of a copyrightable work, because the latter arrangement allows the creator to reacquire rights to the work after the copyright period expires.