 As a matter of law, in the United States, the employee generally owns the IP right unless the employee's inventing skills or task to create the invention is the main specific hiring reason or a specific clause in the employment agreement assigning invention rights.A work for hire created after 1978 has copyright protection for 120 years from its creation date or 90 years from its publication date whichever comes first.Patent protection for software lasts 20 years.