There's a difference. You never owned the work to begin with in a work made for hire. Example: a New York Times reporter never owns the copyright to his articles--they are owned by the NY Times from the beginning. There is no transfer. The article is in a sense written "by" the Times.
But if I write an article and then sell all the rights to the Times later, I can claw it back in a few decades.
The arguments are over what happens when it's not so clear. Like what if the Times contracts with an independent freelancer specifically to write an article?
But if I write an article and then sell all the rights to the Times later, I can claw it back in a few decades.
The arguments are over what happens when it's not so clear. Like what if the Times contracts with an independent freelancer specifically to write an article?