Copyright License Agreement

What is a copyright license agreement?

A copyright license agreement is a legally binding contract in which the copyright owner grants permission to another party to use the copyrighted work under specific terms and conditions. This agreement outlines:

• details of the parties, including their full names and addresses;
• details about the copyrighted work;
• type of license and territorial scope;
• owner’s representations and warranties;
• payment details; and
• duration and termination.

The parties involved in a copyright license agreement sample are the licensor and the licensee. The licensor is the original creator of the copyrighted work or its legal owner. The legal owner of a copyrighted work could be a legal entity or an individual, while the creator of a copyright could be a physical person only.

The licensee is a person who obtains the right to use the copyrighted work in exchange for remuneration. The licensee could be either a business, organization, or individual.

A copyright license agreement should not be confused with a copyright assignment agreement. Those two legal documents differ in a fundamental way. In a copyright assignment agreement, the owner of the copyrighted work transfers their full right, interest, and title in the copyrighted work to another party. In contrast, under a licensing agreement, the owner retains ownership of the copyright while granting limited rights to the licensee.

The present template could be customized for various situations, including copyright license agreements for music, songs, movies, designs, software, photos, and many more.

How to make a licensing agreement?

Drafting a copyright license agreement template is a daunting task. Failure to include certain components in the text of a contract may affect the document’s validity in the future or cause potential legal disputes between the parties. Below we made a short summary of all important provisions every licensing contract for copyright should include:

Description of the Copyright

The text of a copyright license agreement template shall identify the details of a copyrighted work that is being licensed, including:

• name or title;
• date of creation or first publication;
• type of the copyrighted work (e.g., software, design, book, article, etc.); and
• short description (e.g., format, dimensions, or content).

If the copyrighted work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, the text of a copyright license agreement may also include its registration number and date of registration.

Scope of Rights Given

A well-drafted copyright license agreement sample shall define exactly how the licensee can use the copyrighted work. Depending on the type of copyrighted work, a licensee may be given the right to reproduce, publicly display, perform, stream, modify, translate, etc.

If the text of a license contract does not include a specific type of usage, it automatically means that the licensee cannot use the copyrighted work that way.

Type of License

Every copyright license agreement sample shall define which type of license the licensee will get—exclusive or non-exclusive.

An exclusive license allows only the licensee to use the copyrighted work in a certain way. If an exclusive license is granted, neither the licensor nor third parties can use the copyrighted work in the same way as the licensee.

Under a non-exclusive license, the licensee may grant similar rights to multiple parties without any restriction. The non-exclusive license allows the creator to monetize the same work through various channels. For instance, a photographer may license the same image to several clients under a photo licensing agreement template.

Territorial Scope

A solid sample copyright license agreement shall also define the geographical territory where the copyrighted work could be used. The territorial scope could define a specific town, city, state, country, or even region where the copyrighted work could be used by the licensee.

Violation of the territorial scope in a licensing agreement is a serious material breach that allows the licensor to end the contract anytime.

If the parties fail to define the territorial scope directly in the text of a contract, the license is considered granted worldwide.

Defining a territorial scope is especially critical for sculpture, photos, or music license agreement templates.

Payment Options

One of the key elements every copyright license agreement template should have is a payment clause. This clause defines how much, when, and how the licensor should be paid for the provided license. The U.S. copyright laws do not impose minimum or maximum requirements for licensee payments.

The parties to a licensing contract template should agree on the following:

• type of license fee or royalties (e.g., fixed fee, regular payments, fee per digital stream, etc.);
• amount and currency;
• payment schedule (e.g., full amount on the date of signing, monthly payments, etc.);
• acceptable payment methods (e.g., cash, bank transfer).

Duration and termination

The license to use a copyrighted work is being granted for a specific period of time. Neither federal nor state laws define the maximum duration the copyright license agreement can last.

The text of a licensing contract shall address the following important considerations:

• Duration: the license agreement could last several weeks, months, or years;
• Termination: the contract shall provide an exact notice period (e.g., 30 or 60 days);
• Renewal: the contract shall also address if automatic prolongation is allowed or not.

How to customize a licensing agreement at Faster Draft?

To customize a contract template, follow a few easy steps below:

1. Click the button “Create Document.”
2. Answer simple questions in the questionnaire.
3. Select a document’s format—copyright license agreement PDF or Word.
4. Make a payment.
5. E-sign, download, print, and use your customized licensing agreement in a few minutes.