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assignment transfers the total interest in your
right(s). You may either transfer the entire
bundle of rights, or just part of it. In Nigeria,
an assignment must be in writing and signed by
the copyright owner to be valid.
Licensing Strategy
By granting a license, you give the licensee the
permission to do certain things as specified in
the license agreement that otherwise would
not be permissible. Therefore, it is important
to clearly define the scope of the activities
permitted under the license agreement as
precisely as possible. Generally, it is better to
grant licenses that are limited in scope to the
specific needs and interests of the licensee.
Grant of a non-exclusive license makes it
possible to grant any number of licenses to
other interested users for identical or different
purposes on identical or different terms and
conditions.
Sometimes, however, absolute control over a
work represents a business security for the
licensee or an essential part of its business
strategy. In such situations, an exclusive
license or an assignment of all your rights in
exchange for a one-time fee may be the best
deal. But you should consider such negotiations
only after having exhausted all other possible
alternatives, and make sure that you are paid
adequately for it. Once you assign the copyright
in a work you lose all its future income-earning
potential.
What is merchandising?
Merchandising is a form of marketing whereby
an intellectual property right (typically a
trademark, industrial design or copyright) is
used on a product to enhance the attractiveness
of the product in the eyes of the customers.
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The merchandising of products by relying on
copyright may be a lucrative additional source
of income:
•
For businesses that own copyright
works (such as strip cartoons or photographs),
licensing
out
copyright
to
potential
merchandisers can generate lucrative license
fees and royalties. It also allows a business to
generate income from new product markets in
a relatively risk-free and cost-effective way.
•
Companies that manufacture low-priced
mass produced goods, such as coffee mugs,
candies or T-shirts, may make their products
more attractive by using a famous character,
artistic work, or other appealing element on
them.
Merchandising requires prior authorization to
use the various rights (such as a copyright
protected work, an industrial design or a
trademark) on the merchandised good. Extra
caution is necessary when celebrities’ images
are used for merchandising, as they may be
protected by privacy and publicity rights.
How do you license your works?
As a copyright or neighbouring rights owner,
it is up to you to decide whether, how and to
whom you may license the use of your works.
There are various ways in which licensing is
managed by copyright holders.
One option is to handle all aspects of the process
of licensing yourself. You may negotiate the
terms and conditions of the licensing agreement
individually with every single licensee or you
may offer licenses on standard terms and
conditions that must be accepted as such by
the other party if it is interested in exploiting
your copyright or neighbouring rights works.
Administering all your rights yourself will most
frequently involve considerable administrative
workload and costs to gather market
information, search for potential licensees
and negotiate contracts. Therefore, you may
consider entrusting the administration of some
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or all of your rights to a professional licensing
agent or agency, such as a book publisher or
a record producer, who will then enter into
licensing agreements on your behalf. Licensing
agents are often in a better position to locate
potential licensees and negotiate better prices
and licensing terms than you may be able to do
on your own.
In practice, it is often difficult for a copyright
or neighbouring rights owner, and even for
licensing agents, to monitor all the different
uses made of their works. It is also quite
difficult for users, such as radio or TV stations,
to individually contact each author or copyright
owner in order to obtain the necessary
permissions. In situations where individual
licensing is impossible or impracticable, joining
a collective management organization (CMO)
may be a good option, if available for the
specific category of works involved. CMOs
monitor uses of works on behalf of creators of
certain categories of works, and are in charge
of negotiating licenses and collecting payment.
You may join a relevant CMO in Nigeria, and/or
in other countries.
How do collective management
organizations work?
CMOs act as intermediaries between users and
a number of copyright owners who are members
of the CMO. Generally, there is one CMO per
type of work and per country. However, CMOs
exist for only some types of works, such as
film, music, photography, reprography (all kinds
of printed material), television and video, and
visual arts. On joining a CMO, members notify
the CMO about the works that they have
created or own. The core activities of a CMO
are:
1)
Documentation of works of its
members
2)
Licensing and collecting royalties on
behalf its members
3)
Gathering and reporting information on
the use of works
4)
Monitoring and auditing, and
5)
Distribution of royalties to its
members.
The works included in the repertoire of the
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