Property rights can be assigned. Buyers become rights owners, which offers them advantages. As the holder of the rights, the buyer can, for example, bring actions against infringers on their own initiative.

In licence agreements, the uses of works are permitted but the rights still belong to the rights owner. A licence can limit the permitted uses in terms of place, time or scope. An exclusive licence grants the licensee the sole authority to use the work in the agreed manner. The licensee can assert the usage rights vis-à-vis third parties and the author. The exclusive licensee can also bring actions against infringers. We recommend consulting a specialist before drawing up a licence agreement. They will help you to avoid the various stumbling blocks and unfair competition.

Companies often use protected works, including various computer programs. It is recommended to manage the rights and licences carefully by maintaining a list of all used works and keeping the user licences. You can then quickly find the answers to questions such as, “Can I use a photo commissioned for a brochure on the website too?” or “Does the new employee need another software licence or do we already have enough?”

Efficient management of rights and licences is especially important when using software, e.g. knowing who works with what programs and how many licences you really need. It might be sufficient to obtain a single-user licence for certain programmes and install it on a computer accessible to all.