Implied Licences in Copyright Law

Abstract

Implied licences can serve as a flexible and targeted mechanism to balance competing interests, including those of copyright owners and content users, especially in today’s dynamic technological environment. However, implication as a process is contentious and there are no established principles for implying copyright licences. The resulting uncertainty has led to incoherence, diminishing the value of implied licences in judicial reasoning. This book develops a methodical and transparent way of implying copyright licences, based on three sources: the consent of the copyright owner; an established custom; and state intervention to achieve policy goals. The frameworks proposed are customised separately for implying bare and contractual licences, where relevant. The book goes on to analyse the existing case law methodically in the light of these frameworks to demonstrate how the court’s reasoning can be made transparent. Underscoring the contemporary relevance of implied licences, the book tests and validates the methodology in relation to three essential and ubiquitous functions on the internet—browsing, hyperlinking, and indexing.