In some countries, if a work was created by an employee within the scope of his/her employment, then the employer automatically owns the copyright, unless otherwise agreed. But this is not always the case.
Under the copyright law of some other countries, the transfer of rights to the employer may not be automatic and/or may have to be specified in the employment contract.
We have two different cases for you.
For example, computer programmer is employed by a company. As part of his job, he makes video games, during normal working hours and using the equipment provided by the company. The economic rights over the software will, in most countries, belong to the company.
Another example, journalist writes feature articles for the newspaper where she is employed. In most countries, the employer will own the right to publish the articles in the newspaper, even without an explicit agreement to that effect in the employment contract. In some countries, however, the journalist will preserve the right to publish a later compilation of the articles in a book, unless the employment contract stipulates expressly otherwise. Disputes often arise in the event an employee does some work at home or after hours, or produces work not within the scope of the employee's ordinary employment.
- It is a good practice, as a precautionary measure, to have employees sign a written agreement that clearly addresses all the relevant copyright issues before commencement of any work.
