Does a copyright license agreement need to be in writing?

According to the provisions of the Copyright Law, when using other people's works, a license contract must be concluded with the copyright owner. If the right to license is an exclusive right of use, it must be in writing, except for works published by newspapers and periodicals. Regarding the question of whether a copyright license contract must be in writing, the editor of Legal Savior Network will answer it in detail for you below.

1. Does the copyright license agreement need to be in writing?

1 , generally must be signed in writing. When using other people's works, a license contract must be concluded with the copyright owner. If the right to license is an exclusive right of use, it must be in writing, except for newspapers and periodicals that publish works.

2. Legal basis: "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China"

Article 23 For works written by a natural person in Article 10 of this Law, the right to publish and the rights stipulated in Items 5 to 17 of Article 10, Paragraph 1 of this Law shall be protected for the lifetime of the author and fifty years after the death of the author, ending on the fiftieth day after the death of the author. December 31st of the year; if it is a joint work, the deadline is December 31st of the fiftieth year after the death of the last author.

For works and copyrights (except for the right of signature) of a legal person or an unincorporated organization, the protection period for the right of publication is five years. Ten years, ending on December 31, the fiftieth year after the creation of the work; the protection period of the rights stipulated in items 5 to 17 of Article 10, Paragraph 1 of this Law is fifty years, ending on the first time the work is created. December 31, the fiftieth year after publication, but if the work has not been published within fifty years from the completion of creation, this law will no longer protect it.

The protection period of the right to publish audio-visual works is fifty years, ending on December 31 of the fiftieth year after the creation of the work; Article 1 of this Law The protection period of the rights stipulated in Items 5 to 17 of Article 10, Paragraph 1, is fifty years, ending on December 31, the fiftieth year after the work was first published, but the work shall not be protected within fifty years from the completion of its creation. Publication shall no longer be protected by this Law.

2. What are the copyright licensing methods?

Use permitted by copyright isIt refers to the act of a copyright owner licensing his or her work to others in a certain way, within a certain region and within a certain period of time. Copyright licenses are divided into copyright exclusive licenses and general licenses.

(1) Use under exclusive license of copyright. It means that the copyright owner authorizes others to exclusively use the work in a specific manner within a certain region and period. After the copyright owner issues an exclusive license, no one (including the copyright owner) has the right to use the work in the manner listed in the license. Under the conditions of the exclusive use license of a copyright, whether the licensee has the right to issue an exclusive use license or a general use license to a third party for the exclusive use right obtained by it, that is, whether it enjoys a sublicense right, shall be determined by The provisions of the contract shall prevail. If there is no express agreement in the licensing contract, the licensee can only exercise the rights himself and cannot permit a third party to exercise them.

(2) General permission of copyright. It means that the copyright owner authorizes the user to use the work non-exclusively in a specific way within a certain period and scope. The copyright owner can license multiple people to use the same work in the same way and in the same region and within the same period. The copyright owner himself can also use the work within the above scope.

According to the provisions of the "Copyright Law", the use of other people's works must be concluded with a licensing contract with the copyright owner. If the licensed right is an exclusive right of use, the use of other people's works should be Written form, except works published by newspapers and periodicals. I hope the above content can be helpful to you. If you have other questions, you can click the button below for consultation, or go to the Legal Savior website to consult a professional lawyer.