Be Wary of a Copyright Assignment or an Exclusive Copyright License
It’s an important day when an artist signs his first artist agreement, an author executes her first publishing contract, or a band strikes their first record deal. However, it’s even more critical that the creative parties signing these agreements understand what rights they may be giving away. Too often, creative parties realize after it’s too late that they have effectively transferred almost all rights in their work and even in future works.
What is Copyright Assignment / Exclusive Copyright License?
Section 204 of the Copyright Act , a transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law (including but not limited to corporate mergers, bankruptcy, foreclosure, court order, and intestate succession) is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance or a note or memorandum of the transfer is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner’s duly authorized agent. 17 U.S.C. § 204. Consequently, a publisher, studio, or producer will often incorporate language into a contract that transfers all intellectual property rights and copyright rights in a work away from the creative party. Sometimes, the non-creative party will do this in the form of an exclusive license, which often has the same effect as a copyright assignment.
Sometimes, agreements that provide for the transfer of or exclusive rights to such rights also include language that expressly states that all future works created by the creative party are considered a Work-Made-For-Hire and that, if necessary, the creative party agrees to sign additional documents assigning or exclusively licensing their rights in the copyright of the work. A Work-Made-For-Hire means that the creative party is an employee of an organization. It is their job to create the specific type of work being commercialized or that the creative party has been specifically commissioned and hired to complete a particular piece of work, but not in an employer-employee relationship, but rather in an independent contractor role. In either case, the non-creative party is seeking and asserting ownership or exclusivity in all rights in the copyright for all future works before they are even created.
It is highly recommended that a creative party, whether author or singer, retain a skilled lawyer to review any contract that threatens the ownership or rights in the copyright of a specific work or future works. Of course, it is not always a bad thing that these rights are transferred or exclusively licensed. Still, such rights should be understood by the creative party in the context of the overall agreement to provide the creative party with an exit strategy in case the relationship between the parties doesn’t work out. An artist, author, or singer, often spends their entire life trying to ‘catch a break’ or ‘make it big’ or ‘break out,’ why not spend the time and minimal expense to protect what took in some cases a lifetime to achieve?
Have you received your first contract? Contact McClanahan Powers today to schedule your consultation to protect your art.
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SoundBetter Tracks Licenses
Non-exclusive license, exclusive license, buyout license.
This Non-Exclusive Track License Agreement (this “ Agreement ”), for the licensing of [the track identified on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and receipt for the transaction, and the stems for said track if purchased] (the “ Track ”) is a legal agreement between the party granting the license of the Track (“ Licensor ”) and the party receiving the license of the Track (“ Recipient ”), as such parties are so identified on the receipt for the transaction (the “ Receipt ”). Licensor and Recipient are each a “ Party ” and may be referred to herein collectively as the “ Parties. ” This Agreement is solely for the licensing of the Track, which was discovered using the platform made available by SoundBetter, Inc. (“ SoundBetter ”).
- Licensor Likeness Rights . Unless otherwise indicated on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt, Recipient shall have no right to use the Licensor’s name, stage-name, image, or other indicia of Licensor’s identity and persona to market and promote the Derivative Work. If the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt specify that the Track is licensed “with Likeness Rights” Recipient shall be required to provide attribution to Licensor on all distributions of the Derivative Work by including “Produced by ______________ and Co-written by__________” in the “credits” or “personnel” sections attached to all distributions of the Derivative Work, including without limitation, in any liner notes and meta-data.
- Recipient shall not register the Track or Derivative Work with any performance rights organization.
- Recipient shall not produce, or authorize the production of, any audio-visual works incorporating the Derivative Work.
- Recipient is not permitted to register the Track or the Derivate Work with the U.S. Copyright Office
- Recipient shall only distribute the Derivative Work through the following channels: (i) physical compact discs strictly limited to 1000 prints; (ii) through internet streaming services (collectively, the “ Streaming Services ”), such as [(x) Spotify; (y) SoundCloud, and (z) Apple Music], strictly limited to 50,000 cumulative streams. Recipient is prohibited from making use of the song on any monetized YouTube video or channel.
- Recipient may engage in any live public performances of the Derivative Work, including Terrestrial Radio, but excluding any Television Broadcast. However, distribution of the Track or the Derivative work to Terrestrial Radio is prohibited.
- Recipient is not permitted to grant any synchronization licenses to the Track or of the Derivative work.
- Recipient is not permitted to distribute the Track as is (without Meaningful Additions) under any circumstance.
- Payment . In exchange for the License, Recipient shall pay the fee (the “Fee”) set forth [on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt]. The Fee is non-negotiable, non-refundable and non-recoupable.
- Following any termination of this License, Recipient shall be able to continue using (and owning) all Meaningful Additions that had been layered over the Track, and under no circumstances shall such layered materials be deemed owned by Licensor. However, as the License shall have terminated, Recipient shall be forbidden from making any other use of the Derivative Work, absent the purchase of another license to utilize the Track.
- Representations, Warranties and Covenants. Licensor represents, warrants, and covenants that (i) Licensor owns, or controls the copyright in the composition and master recording of the Track; (ii) to the extent any third-party intellectual property (“ Third-Party IP ”) has been incorporated into the Track, Licensor has obtained all necessary rights from all applicable third-parties for (x) the inclusion of such Third-Party IP in the Track, and (y) Licensor to be able to grant the rights to Recipient contemplated herein with no consents required of, or any additional costs due to, any third party for any use of the Track by Recipient made in accordance with this Agreement; and (iii) that the Track, as provided to Recipient, does not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party.
- Licensor will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Recipient and SoundBetter and their respective officers, directors, members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any damages, losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by such parties in connection with any third-party claim, action, or proceeding based on or arising from Licensor’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, or covenants of Section 5 .
- Recipient will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Licensor and SoundBetter and their respective officers, directors, members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any damages, losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by such parties in connection with any third-party claim, action, or proceeding based on or arising from any allegation that the Derivative Work infringes upon the intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights of any third party, other than to the extent such Losses are covered under Section 6.1 above.
- If Recipient is in material breach of this Agreement and fails to cure such breach within fifteen (15) days of receiving written notice, the Licensor may terminate this Agreement.
- This Agreement (and the License) shall automatically terminate upon the earlier of the following: (i) the date that is [twenty four (24) months from the date of purchase of the License as indicated on the Receipt)]; or (ii) the Derivative Work having reached a combined count of [50,000] number of streams across the Streaming Platforms.
- Upon any termination or expiration of this Agreement, all rights in the Derivative Work, other than with respect to any Meaningful Additions, and the Track shall revert to the Licensor, and all Sections of this Agreement (other than those specified in Section 7.4 below) shall hereby terminate.
- Upon any termination or expiration of this Agreement, Sections 4-8 shall survive.
- Following termination of this Agreement, Recipient shall use reasonable efforts to remove the Derivative Work from the Streaming Services. For the avoidance of doubt, any physical embodiment of the Derivative Work created and distributed during the term of this Agreement by or on behalf of Recipient in accordance with this Agreement does not need to be recovered, destroyed, or otherwise reverse distributed upon the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
- General . SoundBetter is an express, intended, third-party beneficiary under this Agreement. Neither Party may assign this Agreement without the prior, written consent of the other Party. This Agreement, forms the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the Track and overrides any and all prior agreements or negotiations between the Parties with respect to the Track. No changes or modifications or waivers to this Agreement will be effective unless in writing and agreed to by both Parties (including via e-mail). If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement remains in full force and effect and enforceable. This Agreement, and any and all disputes directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to this Agreement, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without reference to the choice of law rules thereof. Headings herein are for convenience of reference only and in no way affect interpretation of the Agreement.
This Exclusive Track License Agreement (this “ Agreement ”), for the licensing of [the track identified on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and receipt for the transaction, and stems for said track if purchased] (the “ Track ”) is a legal agreement between the party granting the license of the Track (“ Licensor ”) and the party receiving the license of the Track (“ Recipient ”), as such parties are so identified on the receipt for the transaction (the “ Receipt ”). Licensor and Recipient are each a “ Party ” and may be referred to herein collectively as the “ Parties. ” This Agreement is solely for the licensing of the Track, which was discovered using the platform made available by SoundBetter, Inc. (“ SoundBetter ”).
- Payment . In exchange for the License, Recipient shall pay the fee (the “ Fee ”) set forth [on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt]. The Fee is non-negotiable, non-refundable and non-recoupable (including without limitation by being offset against any royalties that may become due). In addition, Recipient shall register Licensor as co-writer with a PRO (as defined below) in accordance with Section 3.1 .
- Economic Interest in Publishing Royalties . Notwithstanding the foregoing, if and when Recipient registers the Derivative Work with a performance rights organization (each a “ PRO ”), Recipient shall include Licensor as a co-writer of the Derivative Work (or equivalent designation with the applicable PRO as necessary to document with the PRO that Licensor shall be entitled to 50% of all amounts payable by the PRO to anyone, including Licensor, or any other writers or publishers designated when registering with a PRO, with respect to the Derivative Work).
- Rights Apart From Derivative Work . Following any termination of this License (a) Recipient shall continue to own the Derivative Work. However, Recipient shall not be able to enjoy any rights in the Derivative Work to the extent it continues to incorporate the Track, as the Recipient’s license to use the Track shall have terminated. (b) Recipient shall be able to continue using (and owning) all materials created by the Recipient (including any additional original music or lyrics composed by Recipient) that had been layered over the Track, and under no circumstances shall such layered materials be deemed owned by Licensor. (c) Licensor shall be free from any restrictions regarding its own enjoyment or ability to license the Track.
- Representations, Warranties and Covenants . Licensor represents, warrants, and covenants that: (i) Licensor owns, or controls the copyright in the composition and master recording of the Track, and that the Track, as provided to Recipient, does not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party; (ii) to the extent any third-party intellectual property (“ Third-Party IP ”) has been incorporated into the Track, Licensor has obtained all necessary rights from all applicable third-parties for (x) the inclusion of such Third-Party IP in the Track, and (y) Licensor to be able to grant the rights to Recipient contemplated herein with no consents required of, or any additional costs due to, any third party for any use of the Track by Recipient made in accordance with this Agreement; (iii) other than as set forth in this Agreement, there are no restrictions or limitations as to the use of the Track by Recipient; (iv) Licensor is not a member of any union or guild in which membership would prevent Licensor from granting the License or require Recipient to become a signatory to the collective bargaining agreement of any union or guild; and (v) Licensor has all right and authority to grant the License and enter into this Agreement.
- Licensor will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Recipient and SoundBetter and their respective officers, directors, members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any damages, losses, costs, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred by such parties in connection with any third-party claim, action, or proceeding (collectively, “ Losses ”) based on or arising from Licensor’s breach of any of the representations, warranties, or covenants of Section 4 .
- Recipient will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Licensor and SoundBetter and their respective officers, directors, members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any Losses based on or arising from any allegation that the Derivative Work infringes upon the intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights of any third party, other than to the extent such Losses are covered under Section 5.1 above.
- Following termination of this Agreement, Recipient shall use reasonable efforts to remove the Derivative Work from any internet streaming websites or other avenues of publication, to the extent the ability to do so is within Recipient’s reasonable control. For the avoidance of doubt, any physical embodiment of the Derivative Work created and distributed during the term of this Agreement by or on behalf of Recipient in accordance with this Agreement does not need to be recovered, destroyed, or otherwise reverse distributed upon the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
- General . SoundBetter is an express, intended, third-party beneficiary under this Agreement, but is not a party to the Agreement. Neither Party may assign this Agreement without the prior, written consent of the other Party. This Agreement, forms the entire agreement between the Parties with respect to the Track and overrides any and all prior agreements or negotiations between the Parties with respect to the Track. No changes or modifications or waivers to this Agreement will be effective unless in writing and agreed to by both Parties (including via e-mail). If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement remains in full force and effect and enforceable. This Agreement, and any and all disputes directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to this Agreement, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without reference to the choice of law rules thereof. Headings herein are for convenience of reference only and in no way affect interpretation of the Agreement.
This Track Buyout Purchase Agreement (this “ Agreement ”) is a legal agreement governing the sale of [the track identified on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and receipt for the transaction, and the stems for said track if purchased] (the “ Track ”), between the party selling the Track (“ Seller ”) and the party receiving [conditional] ownership of the Track (“ Recipient ”), as such parties are so identified on the receipt for the transaction (the “ Receipt ”). For good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Seller and Recipient hereby agree as follows:
- Payment . In full and complete consideration to Seller for entering into this Agreement, and for all rights transferred by Seller to Recipient hereunder, Recipient agrees to pay, and Seller agrees to accept, the fee set forth on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt (the “ Fee ”). The fee is non-refundable and non-recoupable.
- Ownership . Seller hereby irrevocably assigns and transfers to Recipient all of Seller’s right, title and interest, in and to, the Track, including, without limitation, all copyrights and any other intellectual property or proprietary rights embodied therein (the “ Rights ”). For the avoidance of doubt, the Rights includes all copyrights in both the Track’s composition and any sound recordings thereof. Seller hereby irrevocably waives any and all of Seller’s moral rights with respect to the Track. Although Recipient shall have the right to use and exploit the Track as set forth herein, Recipient shall have no obligation to, nor does Recipient make any warranty or representation that Recipient shall, do so, or that Recipient will produce, release, use, or distribute the Track. The Rights shall include, without limitation, all copyrights, neighboring rights, trademarks, and any and all other ownership and exploitation rights in the Track now or hereafter recognized in any and all territories and jurisdictions, including, without limitation, production, reproduction, distribution, adaptation, performance, fixation, rental and lending rights, exhibition, broadcast, and all other rights of communication to the public, and the right to exploit the Track throughout the universe in perpetuity in all media, markets, and languages and in any manner now known or hereafter devised Unless otherwise indicated on the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt, Recipient shall have no right to use the Licensor’s name, stage-name, image, or other indicia of Licensor’s identity and persona to market and promote the Derivative Work. If the SoundBetter Checkout Page and Receipt specify that the Track is licensed “with Likeness Rights”, Recipient shall have the right, but not the obligation, to use Seller’s name, image, and likeness in connection with the Materials; provided that no such use shall endorse any product, service, or company. The Track may have been licensed previously, and such licenses may be outstanding. Licensor shall be under no obligation to terminate any such previously granted licenses. For the avoidance of doubt, to the extent any Third-Party IP (as defined below) is incorporated into the Track, Recipient’s rights to such Third-Party IP shall be no greater than those rights currently held by Seller. Therefore, although Recipient’s shall, upon execution of this Agreement, own the intellectual property rights embodied in the Track taken as a whole, Recipient’s shall not own such Third-Party IP.
- Representations and Warranties . Seller represents and warrants that: (i) the Track does not infringe or misappropriate the intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party; (ii) to the extent any third-party intellectual property (“ Third-Party IP ”) has been incorporated into the Track, Seller has obtained all necessary rights from all applicable third-parties for (x) the inclusion of such Third-Party IP in the Track, and (y) Seller to be able to grant the rights to Recipient contemplated herein with no consents required of, or any additional costs due to, any third party for any use of the Track by Recipient made in accordance with this Agreement; and (iii) there are no restrictions or limitations as to the use of the Track by Recipient or its successors, licensees, or designees in any and all media perpetually throughout the universe.
- Indemnification . Seller will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Recipient and SoundBetter, Inc. (“ SoundBetter ”) and their respective officers, directors, members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any damages, losses, claims, suits, or proceedings (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) based on or arising from Seller’s breach of any of the representations and warranties hereunder. Recipient will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Seller and SoundBetter and their respective officers, directors, members, managers, employees, and agents from and against any damages, losses, claims, suits, or proceedings (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) based on or arising from a claim that a derivative work of the Track infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of any third party, other than to the extent such infringement claim arises from a breach by Seller of the representation and warranties hereunder.
- Covenants . Recipient agrees not to grant any sync licenses for the Track in its unaltered state. Recipient shall only be allowed to grant sync licenses for derivative works of the Track, and only if such derivative works include the addition of a vocal melody and lyrics (“Meaningful Additions”) to the audio of the Track. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Recipient shall be allowed to sync the Track in connection with one (1) audio-visual production, where such audio-visual production’s primary purpose is to promote the Track and/or Recipient, but not for any other commercial purposes. Should Recipient assign any of the Rights to any third party, such third party must accept the ongoing covenants of this Section 5 as well.
- Termination and Reversion . If Recipient violates its covenants in Section 5 of this Agreement, ownership of the Track and all of the Rights shall automatically revert back to Seller (a “ Reversion ”), and Seller shall be under no obligation to return the Fee. This Agreement shall terminate upon any such Reversion.
- General . SoundBetter is an express, intended, third-party beneficiary under this Agreement. Seller’s rights and remedies in the event of a breach or alleged breach hereof shall be limited to recovery of amounts owed to Seller, but Seller will not be entitled to restrain or enjoin the exploitation of the Track and hereby irrevocably waives any right to seek injunctive relief. This Agreement and the business terms set forth on the Receipt with respect to the Track is the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes any and all prior agreements, negotiations, representations, and understandings between the parties with respect to such subject matter. The failure of either party to enforce its rights under this Agreement at any time for any period shall not be construed as a waiver of such rights. No changes or modifications or waivers to this Agreement will be effective unless in writing and signed by both parties. In the event that any provision of this Agreement shall be determined to be illegal or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that this Agreement shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable. This Agreement, and any and all disputes directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to this Agreement, will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without reference to the choice of law rules thereof. The parties hereby consent and agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of New York for all suits, actions, or proceedings directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to this Agreement, and waive any and all objections to such courts. Headings herein are for convenience of reference only and shall in no way affect interpretation of the Agreement.
What’s the difference between an exclusive licence and an assignment?
The investment in securing registered intellectual property rights is all well and good, but the reward for the monopoly (or quasi-monopoly, depending on the right concerned) comes from the exploitation of that right. Many rights holders will exploit IP directly by using the patent or affixing the trade mark to their own goods, for example. Others seek rewards from letting third parties use their IP, which is where the question of licensing vs assignment arises.
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Understanding copyright for journal authors
What is copyright.
Copyright is a type of intellectual property which protects certain sorts of original creative work, including academic articles. Copyright allows the creator of a work to decide whether, and under what conditions, their work may be used, published and distributed by others. As such, it governs how others can use, publish and distribute articles.
Understanding your copyright options as an author is becoming ever more important, especially with the growth of open access publishing .
Find out more about article publishing charges, embargo, and license information with the Open Access Cost Finder.
How long does copyright last?
Copyright in a work does not last forever. The exact duration of copyright depends on the type of work and can vary between countries. However, for a literary work such as an academic article, the duration is usually life of the author plus 70 years.
Copyright at Taylor & Francis
To publish an article and make it available, we need publishing rights from you for that work. We therefore ask authors publishing in one of our journals to sign an author contract which grants us the necessary publishing rights. This will be after your manuscript has been through the peer-review process, been accepted and moves into production. Our Production team will then send you an email with all the details.
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Standard articles in subscription journals
There are two main options for authors publishing a (non open access) article in a subscription journal. These are copyright assignment or exclusive license to publish.
1. Copyright assignment
In our standard author contract, you transfer – or “assign” – copyright to us as the owner and publisher of the journal (or, in the case of a society-owned journal, to that learned society).
Assigning the copyright enables us to:
Effectively manage, publish and make your work available to the academic community and beyond.
Act as stewards of your work as it appears in the scholarly record.
Handle reuse requests on your behalf.
Take action when appropriate where your article has been infringed or plagiarized.
Increase visibility of your work through third parties.
After assigning copyright, you will still retain the right to:
Be credited as the author of the article.
Make printed copies of your article to use for a lecture or class that you are leading on a non-commercial basis.
Share your article using your free eprints with friends, colleagues and influential people you would like to read your work.
Include your article in your thesis or dissertation.
Present your article at a meeting or conference and distribute printed copies of the article on a non-commercial basis.
Post the Author’s Original Manuscript (AOM) / Accepted Manuscript (AM) on a departmental, personal website or institutional repositories depending on embargo period. To find the embargo period for any Taylor & Francis journal, please use the Open Access Options Finder .
For more information about manuscript versions and how you can use them, please see our guide to sharing your work .
If you publish your article in a Taylor & Francis or Routledge journal, there are many ways you can share different versions of your work with colleagues and peers. Use our article sharing guide to understand manuscript versions and how you can use them.
2. Exclusive license to publish
Alternatively, in some circumstances, you may grant us (or the learned society) an exclusive license to publish your paper rather than assigning copyright. In this arrangement, you as the author retain copyright in your work, but grant us exclusive rights to publish and disseminate it.
As with an assignment, reuse requests are handled by the publisher on your behalf. The publisher will manage the intellectual property rights and represent your article in cases of copyright infringement.
Other forms of license
Other forms of copyright license may be available depending on your specific circumstances – for example, US government employees.
Open access articles
When you publish an open access article , you will retain the copyright in your work. We will ask you to sign an author contract which gives us the right to publish the Version of Record of your article. This author contract incorporates the Creative Commons license of your choice, which will dictate what others can do with your article once it has been published. Find out which licenses your chosen journal offers by using the open access cost finder.
Attribution (CC BY)
Others can distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation.
We offer this license on the majority of our full Open and the majority of hybrid Open Select journals (when publishing on a gold open access basis).
Attribution-Non-commercial (CC BY-NC)
Others can remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.
We offer this license on the majority of our full Open journals.
Attribution-Non-commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)
Others can download your works and share them with others as long as they credit you, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially.
We offer this license on our hybrid Open Select journals (when publishing on a gold open access basis) and some full Open titles.
Please visit the Creative Commons website for more details about licenses.
Understanding article reuse
Each license offers different reuse rights. The table below gives a quick overview of how others can use your work, based on the relevant license.
Frequently asked questions
What if i do not own the copyright in the article i have written.
We seek to accommodate authors who are employees of governments, international organizations, or commercial corporations. Such entities will generally own copyright in works created as part of an employee’s employment.
Such entities will normally issue and grant Taylor & Francis a “non-exclusive” license to publish. In such situations, the publishing agreement stipulates that in doing so, such entities recognize Taylor & Francis as the sole licensee for the publication of the final, definitive, and citable Version of Scholarly Record.
If you work for World Health Organization (WHO) or the World Bank they will retain copyright in the article and authors negotiate whether exclusive or nonexclusive rights are given.
If you are employed by the UK Government, your work is covered by Crown Copyright . Crown Copyright applies to material which is produced by Crown employees during their work. Therefore, most material originated by ministers and civil servants is protected by Crown Copyright.
If you are employed by the US Government, your work is covered by the US Government Copyright .
If I have used any third-party material, whether previously published or not, do I need to acknowledge this?
Yes. You will need to obtain written permission in advance from any third-party owners of copyright for the use in print and electronic formats of any of their text, illustrations, graphics, or other material, in your article and in our journals. The same applies to any other rights held by third parties such as trademarks, design rights, database rights and rights relating to private information and confidentiality.
Taylor & Francis is a signatory of, and respects, the spirit of the STM Permissions Guidelines regarding the free sharing and dissemination of scholarly information. As such, we participate in the reciprocal free exchange of material. It is also important to ensure you acknowledge the source of the original content.
For further details please read our guide to using third party material in your article .
Useful links
Creative Commons licenses .
UK Intellectual Property Office’s What is copyright? guide.
US Government’s Copyright Office guide to copyright .
World Intellectual Property Organization guide to copyright .
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What's the difference between Copyright and Licensing?
There are two other questions, specifically related to Licensing and Copyright .
In reviewing the answers and comments, I get the feeling that people generally consider the two to be the roughly same thing. If this is true, why do we worry about both?
It seems to me that they are very different things:
For copyright
- It exists, without me doing anything to assert it, from the moment of creation.
- Unless explicitly assigned, or surrendered, it persists regardless of licence chosen for the software.
- It grants the creator very specific legal rights and remedies (although, these may vary by jurisdiction).
- Most forms of copyright have a defined duration (usually life + 'n' years).
- In an open source project, every contributor retains copyright in their own contributions.
For the Licence
- It is a legal document
- I have to explicitly choose, or create, the license. It does not apply automatically.
- It grants users of the software specific, and limited, rights.
- Unless stated in the Licence itself, or until it is revoked, it remains enforceable in perpetuity.
Are they aspects of the same thing, or do they actually serve two different populations (producers and consumers)?
- 4 This sounds like a legal document. Preamble... Oh dear... :/ But excellent question. :) – Zizouz212 Jun 24, 2015 at 21:41
- 1 Nah, a preamble is a series of zeroes and ones to pump up the charge in the receiving radio :) – kdopen Jun 24, 2015 at 22:33
- 1 With most licenses, you don't enforce the license, you enforce the copyright. That one has a license is a defense to an accusation of copyright infringement. (EULAs and shrink wraps are exceptions. But this applies to true licenses like the GPL, the Apache license, and so on.) – David Schwartz Feb 21, 2019 at 22:05
3 Answers 3
Copyright is the legal term used to declare and prove who owns the intellectual property (the code, text, etc.).
Licensing is the legal term used to describe the terms under which people are allowed to use the copyrighted material.
You can think of it in terms of physical property, if you want, the copyright is like the "deed" to a house. It says you own the house. If you want, you can rent the house out to someone, and that rental agreement is the 'license'.
Copyright is different to a "deed" in that it is possible to license the material in different ways, to different people, all at the same time.
Like a "deed", though, you can sell ownership of the code to someone else, and that would be called a copyright transfer.
Only the copyright owner (or their agent) can enter in to a license agreement.
A notable exception to your "every contributor retains copyright in their own contributions":
Many large projects use a Contributor License Agreement that specifies that copyright for contributed code is transferred from the code's author to the project/organization.
- 1 Yep. I was thinking of that with the "Unless explicitly assigned, or surrendered," point under copyright, – kdopen Jun 24, 2015 at 22:30
Copyright is personal property.
It can be bought and sold like any other property – a house, a car, a pen.
The difference with copyright and other personal property is that it’s intangible.
Houses (and the land they are on) are a type of property named “real property”.
Basically, real property is the land. The house is “attached” to the land (by being built on it) and therefore for legal purposes becomes part of the land. The house is inseparable from the land.
Cars and pens are choses in possession, or chattels.
They are things you can touch, pickup and hold, which aren’t land or things affixed to land, like houses.
Intellectual property rights are intangible rights. You can’t touch them. They’re incorporeal rights, although it’s not fashionable to call them that.
More technically, copyright along with the other intellectual property rights are choses in action.
As choses in action they’re like a debt: they can only be enforced by legal proceedings. They’re a legal fiction: they only exist in law, unlike your pen or house.
As you know, copyright protects source code. It also protects the written word in books.
When you walk into a bookstore and buy a book, you’re buying the printing copy of the book. You’re not buying the copyright in the book.
Buying the copyright in a book means that you are able to exercise the exclusive rights of the copyright owner of the written word in the book. In this context, that means:
- copy the book;
- authorise others to copy the book.
Source code is protected in the precisely the same way as books.
That’s because the written words in books are the same type of copyright work as source code: literary works.
To put it another way, the written words which make up the source code is the form of a work protected by copyright: a literary work.
Like all intellectual property rights, copyright vests in the work itself to protect it.
You might imagine the book or the source code soaked (like a sponge soaks up water) in copyright.
That would mean:
- for so long as copyright subsists in the source code, it is soaked in intellectual property rights;
- when the term of copyright protection expires (think 70+ years from the time it is created), the source code is no longer soaked in copyright.
At that point in time, the source code is no longer soaked in copyright and it's no longer protected by copyright. Anyone can:
- issue copies of it to the public,
- rent copies to the public,
- make copies available to the public;
- edit it, and/or
- give permission to others to perform the acts above in respect of the copyright work.
You've probably heard some of those terms in the context of copyright, or similar terms.
They're some of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner: the rights which the copyright owner gets as a result of ownership of the copyright.
A licence is a grant of a permission.
They can be:
- granted verbally;
- granted in writing;
- implied by law; and/or
- supported by contractual consideration or not;
- exclusive, non-exclusively or sole
The owner of copyright is the owner of the exclusive rights granted by copyright (some which are listed above).
Let’s say I own some land. I can give permission to somebody or lots of people to:
- enter onto the land. I can specify the time of day they can enter onto the land
- the time by which they must leave
- what they need to wear (or not) when they enter into the land.
- limit which parts of the land they can go to.
Same with copyright works (ie literary works, artistic works et al), such as literary works that I own. I can carve up the permissions however I like as copyright owner.
The maximum length of a licence to use a copyright work – if it’s written properly - will only last for the term of copyright, and no longer.
So after all of that, the answer to your question is that:
- they are aspects of the same thing; and
they serve two different populations or markets:
a. copyright owners; and
b. people that want to use the copyright work, ie licensees.
- 1 Chose in action is a legal term of art. See hallellis.co.uk/chose-in-action , as with chose in possession. – lellis Oct 6, 2019 at 15:22
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Copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work) Template
Create a copyright license agreement (artistic work) in less than 5 minutes with zegal's document builder. no legal knowledge required. try now for free, what is a copyright license agreement (artistic work).
A copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work) is an agreement that allows another party to use the intellectual property of the copyright owner. It will enable the copyright owner to generate income from that use.
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Copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work) FAQ
Table of Contents
To begin, a Copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work) is an agreement that allows another party to use the intellectual property of the copyright owner. And, allows the copyright owner to generate income from that use. Typically, a copyright is created against photographs, books, music, or any other form of creative work.
Essentially, a properly drafted copyright license agreement can allow both parties to be protected. Notably, the licensor grants an exclusive or non-exclusive license for use of his or her intellectual property. Subsequently, the licensee can use the property with full legal protection.
What is in a Copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work)?
Parties participating in the copyright license agreement (artistic work) . .
In all copyright license agreements, the licensor is the party who owns the copyright. While the licensee is the party who is able to use the copyright.
Exclusivity .
Essentially, in an exclusive agreement, the license is a transfer, where the licensee can use and even assign it to another third party. Conversely, in a non-exclusive license, only the licensee can use the work.
The License of Works .
Importantly, whether they are photographs, literature, or any other form of creative work, the assignor must specify the copyrighted works that will be licensed.
Licensor Representation and Warranties.
Notably, the licensor must warrant that the works are original with proper ownership by the licensor. Also, that the works are independent. And, not created as part of any other employment and that the work does not use any other copyrighted work.
Licensee Representation and Warranties.
Essentially, the licensee must warrant that they have the authority to enter the agreement. And, that they have sufficient funds to pay for the copyright license.
Licensing Fee.
Notably, fees for a copyright license can include the following:
- An issuing fee. An initial payment for the purchase of the license.
- Royalty. Fees collected upon the sale of any derivative works based on the original copyright. This can be a percentage of the sale or a fixed fee from every sale.
Scope of the copyright.
Essentially, this includes the scope of use of the copyrighted work. Additionally, any time limitations for the use of the copyright. Scope and limitations can include:
- Geography. The licensed work can only be used in certain geographical regions.
- Time. The work is only under license for a certain period.
- Limited Use. The work can only be used as per the terms specified in the license agreement.
- No Modification. Whether the work can be modified by the licensee.
- Right of Review. Finally, the licensor may require a review of any work done by the licensee that derives from the original property.
When Should You Use a Copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work)?
In a nutshell, a copyright license agreement (artistic work) allows the intellectual property owner to generate fees by licensing out his/her/their product. But, it is not a formal transfer of intellectual property rights. Now, if you wish to transfer or sell your rights in whole, a Copyright Assignment is necessary.
How do I copyright my original artistic work?
To get a copyright on original artistic work, an author of the artwork their agent can file an application for copyright. It can be submitted manually at an office or through e-filing.
New applicants will have to register first with the required documents. Upon completion, the applicant will receive a diary number. Applicants who are already registered can simply log in with a valid ID.
What is not protected under copyright for artistic work?
Embodying a creation of nature is not protected under copyright for artistic work. Rather, the originality of the artwork would be judged based on how the creation of nature has been depicted.
In summary, a Copyright License Agreement is a way to allow another party to use your intellectual property. Chiefly, it’s a document to protect yourself. Whether you are the licensor or licensee, use this template from the Zegal template library to protect your work.
You Might Also Like
Along with this document, make sure you see these other templates in our library:
- Shareholder Agreement
- Option Agreement
- Employee Option Repurchase Agreement
- Share Appreciation Rights Plan
- Share Option Plan
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If you're creating a Copyright License Agreement (Artistic Work), you may also be interested in the following documents:
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IMAGES
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COMMENTS
Sometimes, the non-creative party will do this as an exclusive license, which many times has the same effect as a copyright assignment
hereof, Licensor hereby grants to Recipient a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, time-limited, license, to create one (1) derivative work from the Track by incorporating a vocal melody and
Exclusive licence: this means that the owner of the patent agrees not to grant any other licences of the technology concerned, and agrees not to use the technology himself
Matthew Bartlett explains how you can manage your business' IP through a licence or an assignment, and the difference between the two
There are two other questions, specifically related to Licensing and Copyright. In reviewing the answers and comments, I get the feeling that people generally consider the two to be the roughly same thing
This agreement allows a copyright owner to permit the other party to use an artistic work in return for a license fee. Notably, the licensor grants an exclusive or non-exclusive license for use of his or her intellectual property