What Is a Content License Agreement | The Ultimate Guide (Including 11 Key Essentials)
What is a content license agreement? This is all you need to know about the content license agreement and what you need in your content license agreement.
Using someone else's content or letting someone else use your content is something we all need to do as creators and entrepreneurs, but if you're anything like me, you want to know exactly what you need to get or keep the rights to that content and protect yourself. As a lawyer myself who drafts licensing contracts (and sells a content license agreement template) for creators and entrepreneurs like you, I am giving you the ultimate guide to what is a content license agreement.
You will learn about what is a content license agreement and what exactly you need in your content license agreement template (sometimes called a content use agreement template or digital content license agreement template), regardless of whether you are using (my) paid or free content licensing agreement template.
After learning all about what is a content license agreement and the essentials you must have in your content license agreement template, you will know how to get or keep the rights to your content and protect yourself!
This post is all about what is a content license agreement and everything you need to protect your rights to your content and yourself.
What Is a Content License Agreement
Content license agreement template
Several different terms are used for what is a content license agreement, such as:
simply, licensing contract or licensing agreement; or
content license agreement template; or
content use agreement template; or
digital content license agreement template.
You can find many different licensing contracts online, which could either be a paid or free content licensing agreement template.
If you're looking for a content license agreement template that includes everything you need, you can get an affordable template on this page of my contract shop!
Definition
So, those were all the various terms to describe the same thing, but what is a content license agreement?
A content license agreement is an agreement by which the parties agree that the owner of that content gives another person the right to use the owner's content.
It's that simple.
You may have also heard of the term assignment. 'Assignment' is when all intellectual property rights to a piece of content are transferred by the owner of that content (the assignor) to someone else (the assignee) so that the assignee becomes the owner of that content.
That is not the case with a license. In the case of a license, the owner of the content remains the owner of that content; the person to whom the content is being licensed only gets the right to use that content (under the terms of the licensing contract) and never becomes the owner of that content unless the content is assigned to that person. An assignment can only be done explicitly in writing.
Licensor vs licensee
The person receiving a license to use another person's content is called the 'licensee'.
The person giving a license to use his/her/their content to someone is called the 'licensor'.
Licensor vs creator
The licensor does not necessarily have to be the creator of the content. The licensor may be the owner of the content, but the licensor does not have to be the one who has created the content; someone else may have created that content for the licensor. Either one or more employees of the licensor may have created the content for the licensor, or a contractor or other third party could have created that content and assigned all intellectual property rights to that content to the licensor. When someone assigns the intellectual property rights to a piece of content to someone else, that other person becomes the owner of that content and can do whatever that person wants with it, like licensing the use of that content out to someone else.
Content
The content a license may be given for could be any type of content.
'Content' could be:
a static or moving picture or photo, but which photo exactly, or are there multiple photos for which a license is given?
(part of) a video, but does that also include audio?
a song or audio recording, but is that to the entire recording or just a part of it?
a written piece of content, like a blog post, caption or article.
In the licensing agreement, it's crucial to be very specific about what exactly the content is that may be used by the licensee.
Types of content licenses
Essentially, there are three types of content licenses:
the exclusive license,
the non-exclusive license, and
the sole license.
With an exclusive license, the licensee (the person receiving a license to use another person's content) is the only party that can use the licensed content. The licensor (person giving a license to use his/her/their content to the licensee) does not get to use his/her/their own content anymore, but the licensor does still own it. So, the licensor may (under the conditions of the licensing contract) get those rights back.
With a non-exclusive license, the licensee will be able to use the content, but the licensor keeps the right to license use the license himself/herself/themselves AND give a license to the content to other persons too.
A sole license is a combination of exclusive and non-exclusive licenses; only the licensor and the licensee get to use the content, and no one else will receive a license. This type of license gives the licensor the right to continue using the content along with the licensee. If the licensor wants to keep using the licensed content, then the licensor gives the licensee a sole license.
11 fundamental essentials you need for your content use agreement template
So, now you know what is a content license agreement, here are the 11 key necessities your content license agreement template must include:
the type of license given (see the part on 'types of licenses);
the scope of the license (what content is licensed out exactly?);
what content may be used for;
on which locations the content may be used (the licensee's website, YouTube, podcast, etc.?);
the term of the license (can the licensee use it indefinitely or only for a limited time?);
any rights or restrictions to edit, amend or repurpose the content;
whether the license is sublicensable;
whether the license is transferrable;
whether the licensor is getting paid, and, if so, how much (is it a fixed fee or recurring fee (royalties)?);
when the licensor can revoke the license (in case of misuse, death, insolvency, payment default, etc.); and
whether the licensee must state the source of the content.
These are all fundamentals that your content license agreement template must include. If you want to know more about these essentials and what exactly they mean, I explain all of these fundamentals in this blog post on the 11 Must-Haves for Every Content License Agreement.
Digital content license agreement template
So, now you have learned everything about what is a content license agreement. I've also given you an overview of everything you need in your content use agreement template. I can imagine that this list might be a bit overwhelming. If you are looking for a content license agreement template, I sell a template in my contract shop! My content license agreement template includes all the fundamentals (and more) for both licensors and licensees. It also includes terms for all three types of licenses I discussed in this blog post.
My templates are easy to use, fully customizable to your (licensing) needs and can be used digitally, so getting a license or licensing out your content can be done quickly and smoothly.
You can get your content license agreement template on this page of my contract shop!
Free content licensing agreement template
Maybe you are not able to purchase a content license agreement template. If you prefer to grab a free content licensing agreement template online, you can use the overview I've given to ensure that your licensing contract includes all the essentials you need. Since it is a free version, it will probably not include everything on this list, so you can either have the missing terms added to your free template or buy one to ensure you have the rights and protections you need!
This post was all about what is a content license agreement and the essentials you need in your licensing contract.
Want to license out your content, or are you asking someone else for a license to their content? Then you get your Content License Agreement Template here!
What about when you are asking someone to create content for you to use yourself? Then you're talking about the content creator agreement. Learn everything you need about the content creator agreement in this blog post on the 7 Key Terms Every Content Creator Contract Must Have for Content Creators and Brands.
Are you asking someone to create content for you? Then you need to get your Content Creator Agreement here!
