Legal Definitions - work

In legal contexts, the term "work" can refer to several distinct concepts, primarily categorized into two main areas: the exertion of effort or labor, and creations eligible for copyright protection. It can also be used as a verb.

Work (as a Noun - Effort or Labor)

Generally, "work" refers to the physical or mental effort undertaken to achieve a goal, especially when performed under the direction of an employer for their benefit.

• Additional Work / Extra Work

  This refers to tasks or services that were not part of the original agreement or contract, often arising from changes or unforeseen circumstances. In construction, it means labor and materials beyond the initial plans, for which a contractor is usually entitled to charge extra, especially if agreed upon through a formal change order.

  • Example 1: A homeowner hires a contractor to remodel their kitchen. During the project, the homeowner decides they also want to add a custom-built pantry, which was not in the original contract.

    Explanation: The construction of the custom pantry constitutes additional work because it falls outside the scope of the initial kitchen remodeling agreement and requires new labor and materials.

  • Example 2: A landscaping company is contracted to install a new garden. While digging, they discover a complex underground irrigation system that needs to be rerouted, a task not anticipated in the initial design.

    Explanation: Rerouting the irrigation system is extra work because it was an unforeseen necessity not contemplated by the original contract, requiring additional effort and resources.

• Inherently Dangerous Work

  This describes tasks that carry a significant risk of serious harm if not performed with specialized skill and extreme care. The danger is intrinsic to the nature of the work itself.

  • Example 1: Demolishing a multi-story building using controlled explosives in a densely populated urban area.

    Explanation: This is inherently dangerous work because of the high potential for severe injury or property damage if the demolition is not meticulously planned and executed by highly trained professionals.

  • Example 2: Working at extreme heights on a skyscraper, such as installing glass panels on the upper floors.

    Explanation: This task is inherently dangerous work due to the constant risk of falls and the need for specialized equipment and rigorous safety protocols to prevent serious accidents.

• Work of Necessity

  This refers to work deemed essential for the public's economic, social, or moral well-being, as determined by community standards. Historically, such work was exempt from "blue laws" that restricted activities on Sundays.

  • Example 1: A hospital's emergency room staff working on a national holiday.

    Explanation: Providing emergency medical care is a work of necessity because it is crucial for public health and safety, regardless of the day.

  • Example 2: Utility crews responding to a major power outage during a severe storm on a weekend.

    Explanation: Restoring electricity is a work of necessity as it is vital for public safety, communication, and economic function, making it essential even outside regular business hours.

• Social Security Administration (SSA) Work Categories

  The SSA uses specific categories to describe a person's physical capacity for work when evaluating disability claims. These categories are based on the amount of lifting, carrying, walking, and standing involved.

  • Sedentary Work: Involves sitting most of the time, with occasional walking or standing, and lifting no more than 10 pounds occasionally.
    • Example: A call center representative who spends their shift answering phones from a desk, occasionally walking to a printer or water cooler.

      Explanation: This role fits sedentary work as it primarily involves sitting and very light lifting.

  • Light Work: Involves lifting up to 20 pounds occasionally and up to 10 pounds frequently, with a good deal of walking or standing, or sitting while operating foot or arm controls.
    • Example: A librarian who spends time shelving books, assisting patrons, and occasionally moving small boxes of new arrivals.

      Explanation: This role involves more movement and slightly heavier lifting than sedentary work, classifying it as light work.

  • Medium Work: Involves lifting up to 50 pounds occasionally and up to 25 pounds frequently.
    • Example: A retail stock clerk who regularly moves boxes of merchandise weighing up to 20-30 pounds from storage to shelves.

      Explanation: The frequent handling of moderately heavy items places this activity in the medium work category.

  • Heavy Work: Involves lifting up to 100 pounds occasionally and up to 50 pounds frequently.
    • Example: A warehouse worker who frequently moves large sacks of goods or heavy equipment parts using a hand truck, often lifting items weighing around 40-50 pounds.

      Explanation: The consistent handling of substantial weight qualifies this as heavy work.

  • Very Heavy Work: Involves lifting over 100 pounds occasionally and over 50 pounds frequently.
    • Example: A furniture mover who regularly lifts and carries large, heavy pieces of furniture, often exceeding 50 pounds per item.

      Explanation: The requirement to lift and carry exceptionally heavy objects puts this into the very heavy work category.

  • Unskilled Work: Requires little or no judgment, involving simple tasks that can be learned quickly on the job.
    • Example: A dishwasher in a restaurant, whose main tasks are loading and unloading dishes from a machine and basic cleaning.

      Explanation: This role involves repetitive, straightforward tasks that require minimal training or independent decision-making, making it unskilled work.

  • Semi-skilled Work: May require some alertness and close attention, such as inspecting items or operating simple machinery.
    • Example: An assembly line worker who operates a specific machine to attach components and performs routine quality checks on the finished product.

      Explanation: This job requires more attention and a specific learned task beyond simple labor, classifying it as semi-skilled work.

  • Skilled Work: Requires judgment, dealing with the public, analyzing facts and figures, or working with complex abstract ideas.
    • Example: A software developer designing and coding complex applications, requiring analytical thinking and problem-solving.

      Explanation: This role demands specialized knowledge, judgment, and the ability to work with abstract concepts, fitting the definition of skilled work.

Work (as a Noun - Copyright)

In copyright law, a "work" refers to an original expression captured in a tangible form (like a book, song, or digital file) that may be protected by copyright law.

• Anonymous Work

  A copyrighted work where the author is not identified on the copies or phonorecords.

  • Example: A novel published under the title "The Whispering Woods" with no author's name printed on the cover or title page, and no public attribution.

    Explanation: Since no natural person is identified as the author, this is considered an anonymous work for copyright purposes.

• Architectural Work

  The copyrightable design of a building, as expressed in plans, drawings, or the building itself. Only the overall design, not individual elements, is protected.

  • Example: The unique and distinctive blueprint for a new performing arts center, featuring an innovative curved roof and multi-level glass facade.

    Explanation: The overall aesthetic and structural design captured in the blueprint is an architectural work eligible for copyright protection.

• Artistic Work

  Any visual representation, such as a painting, drawing, photograph, or sculpture.

  • Example: A landscape oil painting created by an artist, depicting a sunset over mountains.

    Explanation: This painting is an artistic work because it is a visual representation created for aesthetic purposes.

• Audiovisual Work

  A work consisting of a series of related images intended to be shown with the aid of a machine, usually accompanied by sound.

  • Example: A documentary film about marine life, combining moving images of underwater scenes with narration and background music.

    Explanation: The film integrates visual sequences with an accompanying soundtrack, making it an audiovisual work.

  • Example: An online educational course featuring video lectures, animated graphics, and spoken explanations.

    Explanation: The combination of sequential images (video, animations) and synchronized sound (lectures) defines this as an audiovisual work.

• Collective Work

  A publication (like a magazine, anthology, or encyclopedia) that brings together several independent, separately copyrightable contributions into a larger, unified whole. The compiler may hold copyright for the selection and arrangement.

  • Example: A literary journal featuring short stories, poems, and essays submitted by various authors.

    Explanation: Each story, poem, and essay is an independent work, but their assembly into a single journal creates a collective work, with the journal publisher potentially holding copyright over the collection's arrangement.

  • Example: A compilation album of songs by different artists, curated around a specific musical theme.

    Explanation: Each song is a separate work, but their selection and arrangement on the album form a collective work.

• Composite Work

  An original publication covering various subjects, including distinct selections from multiple authors. While individual parts may be separately protected, the owner of the composite work often owns the renewal term of copyright.

  • Example: A comprehensive textbook on world history, with different chapters written by various historians, each focusing on a specific era or region.

    Explanation: This textbook is a composite work because it combines distinct, separately authored sections on diverse but related subjects into a single publication.

• Derivative Work

  A new, copyrightable creation based on one or more preexisting works. It involves recasting, transforming, or adapting an original work, such as a translation, musical arrangement, or film adaptation. Only the original copyright holder can authorize a derivative work.

  • Example 1: A popular fantasy novel is adapted into a graphic novel, with the original story told through illustrations and dialogue.

    Explanation: The graphic novel is a derivative work because it transforms the original novel into a new format, building directly upon its existing plot and characters.

  • Example 2: A classical symphony is rearranged for a jazz orchestra, changing its instrumentation and stylistic elements while retaining the core musical themes.

    Explanation: This musical arrangement is a derivative work as it adapts a preexisting musical composition into a new version.

• Dramatic Work

  A non-literary work created for performance and viewing, such as plays, scripts, films, or choreographic works.

  • Example: A stage play script, complete with dialogue, stage directions, and character actions, intended for theatrical performance.

    Explanation: This script is a dramatic work because it is designed to be performed and viewed by an audience.

• Joint Work

  A work created by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions merge into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unified whole. Co-creators typically share equal rights to the copyright.

  • Example 1: A composer and a lyricist collaborate on a new musical, with the composer writing the music and the lyricist writing the words, intending for the songs to be performed as a single, cohesive piece.

    Explanation: The musical is a joint work because both individuals contributed with the intent that their parts would be integrated into a unified artistic creation.

  • Example 2: Two software engineers collaborate on developing a new mobile application, each writing different modules of code that are essential for the app's overall functionality.

    Explanation: Their combined efforts, intended to form a single, functional application, result in a joint work.

• Literary Work

  A non-audiovisual work expressed in words, numbers, or other symbols, embodied in a physical object like a book, manuscript, or computer disk. This category includes novels, poems, computer programs, and databases.

  • Example 1: A published collection of poetry.

    Explanation: The poems, expressed in words and fixed in a book, constitute a literary work.

  • Example 2: The source code for a new video game.

    Explanation: Although not a traditional "book," the code is expressed in symbols and numbers, making it a literary work for copyright purposes.

• Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Work (PGS)

  Two- or three-dimensional works of graphic, fine, or applied art that are eligible for copyright protection. Examples include photographs, maps, drawings, and models.

  • Example 1: A professional photograph of a cityscape at dawn.

    Explanation: This image is a pictorial, graphic, and sculptural work because it is a two-dimensional visual artistic creation.

  • Example 2: A bronze statue displayed in a public park.

    Explanation: The statue is a three-dimensional artistic creation, falling under the definition of a pictorial, graphic, and sculptural work.

• Posthumous Work

  A work by an author that is published after their death.

  • Example: A collection of short stories written by a renowned author but discovered and published by their estate five years after the author passed away.

    Explanation: Since the work was published after the author's death, it is a posthumous work.

• Pseudonymous Work

  A work created by an author who uses a fictitious name (a pseudonym).

  • Example: A popular mystery novel written by an author who publishes under the pen name "A. N. Author" rather than their legal name.

    Explanation: The novel is a pseudonymous work because the author chose to use a fictitious name for publication.

• Work for Hire

  A copyrightable work produced either by an employee within the scope of their employment or by an independent contractor under a specific written agreement. In such cases, the employer or commissioning party, not the creator, owns the copyright.

  • Example 1: A graphic designer employed by a marketing agency creates a new logo for a client as part of their regular job duties.

    Explanation: The logo is a work for hire because it was created by an employee within the scope of their employment, meaning the marketing agency owns the copyright.

  • Example 2: A company commissions a freelance photographer to take pictures for their annual report, with a written contract explicitly stating that the photographs will be a "work for hire."

    Explanation: Due to the specific written agreement, the photographs are a work for hire, and the company owns the copyright, not the freelance photographer.

• Work of Authorship (also called Creative Work)

  The product of creative expression, such as literature, music, art, or graphic designs. To be copyrightable, it must be original (not copied), fixed in a tangible medium (e.g., paper, digital file), and involve some level of creativity.

  • Example 1: A musician composes a new song, writes down the sheet music, and records a demo.

    Explanation: The song is a work of authorship because it is an original creative expression fixed in a tangible form (sheet music, recording) with sufficient creativity.

  • Example 2: A sculptor designs and carves a unique marble statue.

    Explanation: The statue is a work of authorship as it represents an original creative expression fixed in a tangible medium (marble) and embodies artistic creativity.

• Work of the United States Government

  A work created by a U.S. government officer or employee as part of their official duties. By law, these works cannot be copyrighted by the federal government and are generally in the public domain.

  • Example 1: A scientific report published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) based on research conducted by its employees.

    Explanation: This report is a work of the United States government because it was created by federal employees in their official capacity, making it ineligible for federal copyright.

  • Example 2: A public service announcement video produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to educate the public about health guidelines.

    Explanation: As a creation by federal employees performing their official duties, this video is a work of the United States government and cannot be copyrighted by the CDC.

Work (as a Verb)

• 1. To exert effort; to perform, either physically or mentally.
  • Example 1: The legal team worked late into the night to finalize the brief before the deadline.

    Explanation: This illustrates the act of exerting mental effort over an extended period to complete a task.

  • Example 2: Construction crews worked diligently to repair the damaged bridge before the morning commute.

    Explanation: This refers to the physical effort and labor performed to achieve a specific goal.

• 2. To function properly; to produce a desired effect.
  • Example 1: After several adjustments, the new security system finally began to work as intended.

    Explanation: This means the system started to function correctly and achieve its desired purpose.

  • Example 2: The marketing strategy they implemented didn't quite work, as sales figures remained unchanged.

    Explanation: This indicates that the strategy failed to produce the desired positive effect on sales.

• 3. (Patents) To develop and use a patented invention, especially to make it commercially available.
  • Example 1: A technology company acquired a patent for a new battery design and immediately began to work the patent by manufacturing and selling batteries incorporating the invention.

    Explanation: This means the company actively developed and commercialized the invention covered by their patent.

  • Example 2: In some countries, if a patent holder fails to work their patent within a specified period, they might be compelled to license it to others.

    Explanation: Here, "work" refers to the obligation of the patent holder to actively produce or make available the patented invention to the public.