What is an exclusive license?

An exclusive license is a legal agreement that grants someone (the licensee) the sole right to use a copyrighted work, such as a song, video or book. It means that in exchange for the payment of a fee, or other form of compensation, the licensee has the exclusive right to use the copyrighted work without interference from anyone else. In Virginia, someone who creates a copyrighted work must be the one to give an exclusive license. In granting an exclusive license, the licensor reserves all other rights to the copyright for themselves. An exclusive license grants the licensee all the rights of ownership for the limited purpose defined in the agreement. This means the licensee has the sole right to reproduce, distribute, or publicly perform the work, and to create any “derivative works” based on the original work. The licensee is also the only one with the right to sue to enforce the copyright. An exclusive license can be either transferable or non-transferable. A transferable exclusive license allows the licensee to assign the rights to someone else, while a non-transferable exclusive license does not.

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