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This may be a pointless conversation for some, but others may feel it is somewhat informative. And, if it can make someone aware of their rights, then it shall not have been in vain. If Ack!mud wishes to dismiss us by claiming we get all tingly because we are discussing the law, that is fine with me. I'm in law school and really do enjoy discussing this kind of stuff.
Threshold:
Simply creating a work for another is not necessarily a work for hire, per se. Moreover, simply allowing a builder to work on a builder port is not in itself consideration. Not all muds make builders an imm, which is another reason building in itself is not necessarily consideration. However, granting special privileges (such as an imm) to a builder MAY create consideration (again, such a determination is not definite).
However, just because there is consideration does not necessarily mean the contract is valid. A contract can not be forced upon someone. The license is granted to the owner from the author. If the owner wants to say "if you want to build you have to agree to these terms" that is fine. However, without consideration such a deal would be invalid. Moreover, a builder could simply say "i don't agree" and the offer from the owner no longer invokes a power of acceptance in the builder. At which point, a completely new set of terms could be arranged.
(That was a crash course in offer and acceptance, another important aspect of contracts. I don't know if this helps or not, but I thought I would throw it in to cloud everyone's mind a little more.)
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