Licensing copyright

The copyright owner (licensor) grants another person or orgranisation (licensee) a licence to use a work in certain ways. Such a licence is exlusive because only the licensee can use the work in the authorised way set out in the licence. Not even the licensor can exercise the rights granted to the licensee under the licence. The licence must be in writing.

Scenario:
If you grant an exclusive licence to a publisher to publish your book, you are not entitled to publish the book, or license anyone else to publish the book during the period of the licence.

Example: Exclusive licence agreement

Using the sample Wiley exclusive licence agreement as an example, note:

Clause A. Copyright
(1) "The Contributor grants to the Owner an exclusive license of all rights of copyright in the Contribution during the full term of copyright..."

Clause C. Permitted uses by Contributor
The contributor is granted certain rights back by the publisher to use different versions of the article for different purposes.

1. Submitted/pre-print version can be included in, for example, a not for profit subject-based preprint server or repository, or institutional repository (RUNE)
2. Accepted version can be included in, for example, an institutional repository (RUNE), not for profit subject-based repositories - subject to an embargo
3. Final published version can be used, for example, to make copies for colleagues, teaching duties.

The copyright owner (licensor) grants multiple people or orgranisations (licensee) a licence to use a work in certain ways. Such a licence is non-exclusive, because the right to use the work in certain ways is not restricted to one licensee, and the licensor can also continue to use the work themselves. A non-exclusive licence can give you more control of your work. A non-exclusive licence does not need to be in writing.

Scenario:
If you grant a publisher a non-exclusive licence to reproduce a photograph, you may also grant non-exclusive licences to other publishers to reproduce the photo, and you may reproduce the photograph yourself.

Example: Creative Commons licences

All Creative Commons (CC) licences are non-exclusive. Creators and owners can enter into additional, different licensing arrangements for the same material at any time.

Using the CC BY licence as an example, note:

Section 2. Scope
a. License grant: (1) "Subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, the Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material to..."

In the absence of an agreement, permission from a copyright owner to use copyright material may be implied from the circumstances.

Scenario:
'Letters to the editor' may be published in newspapers on the basis of an implied licence. However, you can take steps to ensure that the publisher does not publish your work on this basis (if this is not what you want). This can be achieved by including a covering letter to the publisher, explaining that the work is submitted for the publisher's consideration only and that terms of publication will be negotiated if the publisher is interested in the work.