Consider this:
You have just written a short poem that has become a bestseller on the national list. As the author, you have the right to assign, or to give away, your rights. You can decide for how long and for how much money you want to give away the rights. This is called “assignment”. Once you have given away your copyright, or have assigned it, you no longer have the copyright. In fact, during the assignment period, the person to whom the copyright is assigned can stop you from reprinting/reproducing your poem.
On the contrary, if you don’t want to give away your rights in the poem, you can choose to allow individuals to reproduce or reprint your poem with your permission. This is called “licensing“. Again, you can decide for how long and at what price you will allow someone to reproduce the poem with your permission. However, you will still have the right to reprint/reproduce the poem, and to allow other people to reproduce/reprint the poem. The people who were already allowed to reproduce/reprint the poem would not be able to stop you from further licensing your poem.
An interesting fact, assigning your right completely does not necessarily mean that you no longer have any say in how the work is used. The author will still retain a right to have the work presented in a good light; this is called a “moral right“.
One famous example is Michael Snow’s geese sculpture on display in the Toronto Eaton Centre. One year during the Christmas season, the Eaton Centre management decided to put ribbons on the necks of the geese. Mr. Snow sued and was successful in removing the ribbons. Therefore, even after you have assigned your rights to the poem completely, you can still have a say in preventing your poem from being gravely distorted.
Caution and disclaimer: The following article is provided solely for educational purposes. This is not legal advice. Readers must seek independent legal advice from a properly licensed practitioner.
