-- JonathanMo - 14 Sep 2015

Licensing of copyright

In contrast to assignment, a licence arrangement may involve nothing more than a bare permission to do an act in relation to a work or subject matter that would otherwise be an infringement. But licences granted by a copyright owner are binding on successors in title of the grantor to the same extent [see CA ss.196(4) and 197(3)]. A licence may be verbal or in writing or implied by the conduct of the copyright holder; it may cover any aspect of the copyright; it may be exclusive, sole, or non-exclusive.

An exclusive licence gives its holder the exclusive right to do certain things with the work concerned. No one else, including the copyright holder, will then be able to use the photographs for this purpose. Such a licence can be limited to specific purposes, for certain territories or for specified time limits. To be fully effective an exclusive licence must be in writing and signed by the copyright holder.

A non-exclusive licence gives its holder the right to do certain things, but does not prevent the copyright holder issuing licenses to others to do the same things. A non-exclusive licence does not have to be in writing and can be implied from the conduct of the copyright holder. A creator of a work would, however, be strongly advised to issue a written licence.