8. IP ownership

You can sell, transfer or licence your IP. A licence allows others to use your IP, according to the licence conditions, but you retain the ownership.

When deciding on an IP licence, think about why you want to license it and how you want the licensee to use it.

The terms of a licence can override standard IP protections, so it is important to understand and adhere to any licence conditions.

What is an IP licence?

What is a licence? (YouTube, 53s) explains what licences cover including exclusivity, duration, purpose, restricted uses and attribution requirements:

Creative Commons licences and copyright

As a copyright owner, you can choose to licence your work to allow others to use it, while protecting your rights.

A popular alternative to the practice of buying and selling copyright licences is the Creative Commons (CC), which provides a free way to grant use of IP with proper attribution.

You can share your work with a CC licence to give permission to others to use and adapt your work. The licences are built by using a combination of four main conditions – BY, SA, NC and ND.

Creative Commons Licences

Click through each slide to learn more about these licences:

As the copyright owner, you can select the type of CC licence that best suits your needs.

The License Chooser from Creative Commons can help you choose the appropriate licence for your work.

Make sure that you are the copyright owner or have permission from the copyright owner before you use any content for commercial purposes.

For example, if a person takes a photo for you, even if the photo is taken with your device, they are the copyright owner unless they transfer the rights to you.