Acquisition of usage rights

Anyone who wants to use works that he or she has not created himself or herself must acquire rights of use for them, unless one of the above-mentioned exceptions is relevant. The transfer of rights takes place through agreements on rights of use (licence agreements). By this, an author (the "licensor") declares that he or she permits a user ("licensee") to use a work in any way or only in a specific manner (cf. Kreutzer/Hirche 2017: 79).

Scenario:
If, for example, a professor buys a learning module from a former assistant who has become self-employed after completing her studies and now creates and sells individual learning modules, she or he must ensure that the rights of use are also acquired through a contractual agreement. Only then is he or she legally on the safe side to integrate the learning module into a course.

Notice:
Anyone who develops content for a third party on behalf of and for a fee which the client wishes to use (e.g.) for teaching purposes, is generally obliged to acquire rights to the works of third parties and to transfer such rights to the client if this is necessary. This distribution of responsibility may be changed by contractual agreements.

Kreutzer/Hirche 2017: 83-89 contains very descriptive information and text modules on structuring license agreements.

Further definitions can be found in the Glossary.