Work Made For Hire Agreement
By Amy E. Feldman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - What's a work made for hire agreement and why might it make you feel sick when you realize what you're giving away?
Not since the death of the inventor of Doritos last year has the world of haute cuisine experienced a loss like it faced recently, when Sam Porcello, a Nabisco employee known as Mr. Oreo, the creator of the stuf in the Double Stuf passed away.
Mr. Porcello should clearly get whatever top award can be given to a man who gave the world so much. What he won't be given, is a stake in the profits of the cookies to which he added so much.
Because they were created while Mr. Porcello was an employee of Nabisco, his wonderful creations are the property of Nabisco. If you work in any type of scientific, technical, or creative profession, you may be asked to sign what's known as a work-made-for hire agreement, in which you give all the rights to your creation to the employer who pays you to make them.
So if you think that you're going to create the biggest thing since dunked cookies, consider working for yourself rather than selling your sweet genius for someone else's paycheck.
