EXCLUSIVE LICENSE
DEFINITION
An exclusive license grants one licensee the sole right to use a work in a defined way, meaning even the original creator cannot grant the same rights to anyone else, and often cannot use the work that way themselves, for the term of the agreement. It differs from an assignment in that the creator retains underlying ownership.
WHAT IT MEANS IN PRACTICE
Exclusivity is scoped, almost always, by territory, medium, time, or field of use. A license can be exclusive for North American theatrical release while the creator remains free to license the same film for European television.
Because an exclusive license blocks the creator from dealing with anyone else within its scope, it is usually priced higher than a non-exclusive license covering the same use, since the creator gives up all future optionality in that scope, which is far more than granting one use.
In both US and EU law, an exclusive licensee generally gains the standing to sue infringers directly within the scope of their exclusivity, a right a non-exclusive licensee typically lacks. This is one of the few places the two systems align closely.
Exclusivity clauses without a clear end date are a common trap: an 'exclusive license, term: ongoing' effectively locks the creator out of dealing with their own work indefinitely, which functions economically like an assignment while paying like a license.
AN EXAMPLE
A boutique agency signs an exclusive license with an illustrator, Nadia, to use a character design in advertising across the UK for three years. Nadia cannot license that character to a competing UK brand during those three years, but she remains free to license it in the US or for merchandise outside advertising.
WATCH OUT
An exclusive license with no term and broad scope is functionally an assignment without the price tag of one, so read the term length before agreeing to exclusivity.
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