What is the difference between assigning and licensing rights

It does not need to be in writing but it is always advisable to put agreements concerning the use of a work in a written form to avoid disputes as to the terms. Both assignments and licences can be limited by time for example, for five years only , by territory e.

We are a full service digital partner to our customers. This means we can help your business with website hosting, web design, domain name registration and hosting, business grade email, professional online stores, electronic marketing like MailChimp and a lot more. Where a licensee of the copyright in a future work dies before such work comes into existence, his legal representatives shall be entitled to the benefit of the license if there is no provision to contrary.

The mode of license is like an assignment deed, with necessary adaptations and modifications in section 19 section 30A. Therefore, like an assignment, a license deed in relation to a work should comprise of following particulars:. Exclusive - The term exclusive license has been defined in Section 2 j as a license which confers on the licensee and persons authorized by him, to the exclusion of all other persons, any right comprised in the copyright work.

Non-exclusive — It does not confer right of exclusion. It is mere grant of an authority to do a particular thing which otherwise would have constituted an infringement.

When owner grants an exclusive right, he denudes himself of all rights and retains no claim on the economic rights so transferred. Co-exclusive — Here the licensor grants a license to more than one licensee but agrees that it will only grant licences to a limited group of other licensees. Sole license — Where only the licensor and the licensee can use it to the exclusion of any other third party. Implied license — Author impliedly allows or permits the use of his work.

For example, he had knowledge that someone is using his work but he did not take any action. Being a member of Berne Convention, India has incorporated the provision of compulsory license in the Copyright Act, The Act provides for grant of compulsory license for Indian work in the public interest, in certain circumstances:. The Indian Copyright Act provides for the grant of compulsory licences in work which has been published or performed in public. It empowers the Appellate Board to direct the Registrar to grant license, if a complaint is made to it in writing under the Act, during the subsistence of copyright stating the necessary facts which are conditions precedent to its exercise of power, provided the owner has been approached in the first instance for the grant of license and it is only if he has refused to publish or allow the republication of the work and by the reason of such refusal the work is withheld from the public.

In case where two or more persons have made a complaint, the licence shall be granted to the complainant who in the opinion of the Copyright Board would serve the interest of the general public.

In Super Cassette Industries Ltd v. The Copyright Board ultimately issued them a compulsory license against which an appeal has been filed in the Delhi High Court. After contemplating over section 31, Court observed that in case compulsory license had to be granted to all, then there was no need of any enquiry as envisaged by section The court also opined that once the copyright was in public, refusal has to be made on reasonable and valid ground.

While making an order under section 31, the Board had to maintain a delicate balance between the private rights and the copyright vis-a vis- public interest. The case was sent back to the Copyright Board for fresh consideration. According to this section, where the author is dead or unknown or cannot be traced , or the owner of the copyright in such work cannot be found, any person may apply to the Copyright Board for a licence to publish such work or translation thereof in any language.

Before making such an application, the applicant should publish his proposal in one issue of a daily newspaper in that language. The application to the copyright board should be in the prescribed form and accompanied by the prescribed fee and with the copy of advertisement issued. The Copyright Board after making the certain prescribed enquires direct the Registrar of Copyright to grant license to the applicant to publish the work or its translation subject to the payment of royalty and other conditions.

Any person working for the benefit of persons with disability on a profit basis or for business may apply in prescribed manner to the Appellate Board for a compulsory licence to publish any work in which copyright subsists for the benefit of such persons.

However, where a compulsory licence has been issued, the Appellate Board may on a further application and after giving reasonable opportunity to the owners of the rights, extend the period of compulsory licence and allow the issue of more copies as it deems fit.

Cover means a sound recording made in accordance with section 31C. Any person desirous of making a cover version, being a sound recording in respect of any literary, dramatic or musical work with the consent or licence of the owner of the work, can do so. The person making the cover version is required to give prior notice to the owner of the copyright in such works and to the Registrar of Copyright at least 15 days in advance of making the cover version.

Advance copies of all covers with which the sound recording is to be sold to be provided or royalties to be paid in advance. One royalty in respect of such sound recordings shall be paid for a minimum of fifty thousand copies of each work during each year. Piyush Aggarwal 7 , stated that sound recording included a subsequent original sound recording made from the musical and literary work and which was called a version recording i.

The notice must specify the duration and territorial coverage of the broadcast. Corresponding royalties are required to be paid to the owner of copyrighted work. Rates of television broadcasting are different from the rate fixed with respect to radio broadcasting. This avoids confusion later, and allows the rightsholder to quickly identify the work, especially if they control a lot of material such as a publisher ; how the material is going to be used, including information such as number of copies made, who they will be distributed to, where they will be distributed for example, to staff in overseas offices and whether the work will be distributed free of charge or for profit; how long the permission lasts eg, is it a one-off copy or will the material continue to be copied for a set period of time?

And if so how and when will the charges be calculated? A miscalculation could mean serious complications and costs. Protect yourself before you start by getting knowledgeable guidance from an experienced attorney at KPPB LAW who can ensure that your agreement protects your interests. Licenses and Assignments as Options Licenses and assignments are both ways of granting rights in intellectual property to a third party, but the two alternatives are quite a bit different, and it is important that a person or organization transferring intellectual property rights understand the difference and the ramifications of each.

Intellectual Property Licensing Licensing a patent or copyright to a third party means granting that person or organization permission to exercise some or all of your rights. Non-Exclusive Licensing A non-exclusive license grants a third party the right to use your intellectual property but does not prohibit you from using those rights yourself, or from granting licenses to others.

Exclusive Licensing An exclusive license grants the purchaser the sole right to use the intellectual property, or some portion of it, for either the duration of the licensing period or a portion of the licensing period. Limited Licensing A license, whether exclusive or non-exclusive, may be limited in various ways.

Assignment of Intellectual Property Rights The key difference between a license and an assignment is that an assignment transfers rights away from the original copyright or patent holder.