as a result of being there since the inception of the company or being talented recruits from other animation studios. These are the more secure positions in an animation studio, though the studio might have policies concerning the possible tenure of animators. Since studios can hire animators on a work for hire basis nowadays, many artists do not retain rights over their creations, unlike some of the early animators. The extent of these copyrights is subject to local intellectual property rights. The animators must also be aware of the contracts laws and labour laws prevalent in the jurisdiction to which the animation studio is subject to. There have been numerous legal battles fought over the copyright of famous franchises, such as Kung Fu Panda and SpongeBob SquarePants. This has come about as a result of the clause in Copyright contracts that states that an idea cannot be protected, only an actual piece of work can be said to be infringed upon. This means that though the animators may have forwarded ideas to the animation studios about certain characters and plots, these ideas alone cannot be protected and can lead to studios profiting on individual animator's ideas. However, this has not stopped many independent artists from filing claims to characters produced by different studios. Animation specialties Due to the wide range of animation techniques and styles, many animation studios typically specialize in certain types. Traditional animation Traditional animation employs the use of hand-drawn frames. Traditional animation studios have seen a decline in recent years due to the increased use of computers and some companies, such as Walt Disney Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation, have transitioned away from traditional animation to computer-generated imagery. Nonetheless, traditional animation still is used extensively in the world of cartoons and anime. Notable studios that specialize in this style include Studio Ghibli, Nickelodeon Animation Studio, 20th Television Animation, and Cartoon Network Studios. Stop-motion animation Stop-motion animation uses objects that are incrementally moved and photographed in order to create an illusion of movement when the resulting frames are played back. Notable studios specializing in this style of animation include Aardman Animations and Laika. 3D computer animation 3D animation is the newest of the animation techniques, using the assistance of computers and software, such as Houdini, to create 3D models that are then manipulated and rendered to create movement. Notable studios include Pixar Animation Studios, Blue Sky Studios and