How does the work-for-hire rule affect copyrights created by employees in the United States?

Under the "work-for-hire" doctrine in the United States, the ownership of copyright for works created by employees is typically awarded to their employers rather than the individual creators.1

This rule functions as a significant departure from the legal standards in many other countries, where employees often retain the copyrights to their own creations. Because these works are legally attributed to the employer, they are subject to specific duration terms: 95 years from the date of first publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever period is shorter.1