What is the difference between a copyright and a license?

A copyright and a license are both terms used in Intellectual Property Law, but they refer to different things. A copyright is a type of legal protection that applies to creative works such as books, art, music, and software. A copyright gives the author of the work the exclusive right to control how it is reproduced, distributed, and used. It also often gives the author financial benefits related to the work, such as royalties for sales of copies. A license, on the other hand, is an agreement between two parties that gives one party permission to use a copyrighted work in some way. For example, a software company might give a customer a license to use their software for a set period of time. A license can also specify what a customer is allowed to do with a work, such as only being able to view it, or being able to copy or edit it. In summary, a copyright is a type of legal protection given to creative works, while a license is an agreement that gives someone the right to use the copyrighted work in a specified way.

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