It doesn’t take any formalities to authorize someone to
use your copyrighted work. Whether we call it a
“license,” “permission,” “a grant of
rights” or something else, this step is often taken very
informally.
Consider a recent dispute between a writer and the Buffalo News
newspaper. Joel Joseph wrote an article. He emailed it to the News.
A News editor, interpreting it as a proposed op-ed article, wrote
back, “I think I’ll have a spot for this in our Sunday
Viewpoints section on September 13. Thank you.”
Mr. Joseph responded, “Great. Thanks.”
That was the total exchange. And it was sufficient to show that
Mr. Joseph granted a non-exclusive license to the News to publish
his article. And because neither his original email nor his
two-word reply imposed conditions, his license to the News was
unconditional. So he was not entitled to compensation.
