Copyright law and the evil "Work made for hire" agreement...
Here's a simplified breakdown of the "legalese" in the the deceptive "Work made for hire" agreement. Federal copyright law basics. Creator owns copyright from moment of creation. Does not require registration , but that is helpful in cases of dispute. Creator grants license to users/clients for publication. Only exception is a deceptive agreement titled “work made for hire” where creator transfers copyright. All work is technically "for hire". .. This is really just copyright transfer agreement that was made to benefit large studios in cases with multiple creators to consolidate ownership. In this case most are paid well. However, it gets abused by some cretins to manipulate creators into bad deals for low rates . Unless it's a large project with appropriate rates, never agree to “work made for hire” agreements because they rob you of your rights and leverage to make sure client pays and uses the material appropriately. ...