Can a copyright licence be restricted by time?

Yes. A licence can be granted for a fixed term, a project period, an ongoing term, or until terminated. If the licence is time-limited, the agreement should explain what happens to existing copies or materials after expiry.

What is a sublicensing restriction in a copyright licence agreement?

Sublicensing allows the licensee to grant rights to third parties. If it is not intended, the agreement should expressly prohibit sublicensing, assignment, transfer, or sharing of rights without the copyright owner’s written consent.

Can a copyright licence restrict commercial use?

Commercial use means using the copyrighted work to generate revenue or support business activity. A licence can allow commercial use, prohibit it, or limit it to specific products, services, campaigns, or channels.

Can the licensee modify or adapt the copyrighted work?

Yes. A UK copyright licence can prohibit alterations, derivative works, translations, edits, cropping, remixing, or adaptations unless expressly approved. This is important for protecting the integrity and value of the original work.

What happens to restricted rights when a copyright licence ends?

The licensee must stop using the work unless the agreement allows limited post-termination use. The agreement should require deletion, return, or cessation of distribution and clarify whether existing stock, archives, or published materials may remain in use.

What is the difference between a copyright licence and copyright assignment?

A licence grants permission to use copyright under agreed conditions. An assignment transfers ownership of copyright. Restrictions and reserved rights are especially important in a licence because ownership remains with the copyright owner.

How do restrictions work in exclusive and non-exclusive copyright licences?

A non-exclusive licence allows the copyright owner to grant the same or similar rights to others. An exclusive licence gives the licensee rights to the exclusion of others, often including the owner, depending on the wording. Reserved rights should be stated clearly in both cases.

Can a copyright licence limit the media or format of use?

Yes. The licence can restrict use to specific platforms, formats, media, or channels, such as websites, social media, print, software, broadcasts, or internal business use only.

Do copyright licence restrictions affect moral rights in the UK?

Moral rights in the UK include rights such as attribution and objection to derogatory treatment, subject to legal requirements and exceptions. A licence should address credit, permitted edits, and whether any moral rights waiver or consent is required.

What should a UK copyright licence say about reserved rights?

The agreement should identify the work, granted rights, excluded rights, territory, term, permitted purpose, prohibited uses, sublicensing rules, modification limits, attribution requirements, termination effects, and a clause reserving all rights not expressly granted.

Can breaching copyright licence restrictions lead to infringement?

Yes. Breaching licence restrictions may result in termination, damages, injunctions, and potential copyright infringement claims if the use falls outside the permission granted.

How can a Copyright Licence Agreement limit the purpose of use?

The agreement should specify permitted purpose and scope, such as use in a named project, campaign, publication, product, or internal business process. Any use outside that purpose should require prior written consent.

How can I draft copyright licence restrictions for UK use?

Use clear, specific drafting: state what is permitted, what is prohibited, what rights are reserved, and what happens on expiry or breach. An AI-generated UK Copyright Licence Agreement can help create a structured starting point, but legal review may be needed for complex rights.

EN-GB>IP>Copyright Licence Agreement>UK Copyright Licence Restrictions & Reserved Rights

Copyright Licence Restrictions And Reserved Rights In The United Kingdom

Created: 12 Jun 2026

This dataset helps readers understand key licence limits, excluded uses, and rights kept by the owner in a UK copyright licence. It is especially useful when reviewing or drafting an AI Generated British Copyright Licence Agreement.

Restriction Name	Restricted Activity	Importance Level	Exception Position	Drafting Notes	Breach Consequences
Use restriction
Purpose-Limited Use	Using the work for any purpose other than the stated licensed purpose.	High	Allowed with consent	Define the exact business purpose, project, campaign, product or service covered.	Termination, damages, injunction and additional licence fees.
No Unlicensed Copying	Making copies beyond those expressly allowed by the licence.	High	Allowed with consent	Specify permitted copy numbers, storage locations and backup rights.	Copyright infringement claim, deletion order and damages.
No Distribution Of Copies	Issuing, selling, lending or otherwise distributing copies to the public.	High	Allowed with consent	Clarify whether distribution to clients, affiliates, retailers or end users is allowed.	Termination, injunction, damages and account of profits.
Commercial restriction
No Rental Or Lending	Renting or lending copies of the work without permission.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Useful for software, audio-visual works, publications and training materials.	Damages, injunction and withdrawal of copies.
Use restriction
No Public Performance	Performing, showing or playing the work in public.	High	Allowed with consent	Define venues, audiences, ticketed events, streams and presentation contexts.	Injunction, damages, termination and event takedown demands.
Media restriction
No Communication To The Public	Broadcasting, streaming or making the work available online to the public.	High	Allowed with consent	State whether websites, apps, social media, email, webinars or broadcasts are covered.	Takedown, injunction, damages, platform notices and termination.
Modification restriction
No Adaptation	Adapting, translating, arranging or converting the work into another form.	High	Allowed with consent	List permitted technical formatting separately from creative adaptation.	Termination, injunction, delivery up and damages.
Other restriction
All Rights Reserved Except Licensed Rights	Exercising any copyright right not expressly granted in the agreement.	High	Prohibited	Use express reservation language to avoid implied broad permissions.	Unlicensed use, termination and infringement remedies.
Territorial restriction
UK-Only Territory	Using, publishing or distributing the work outside the United Kingdom.	High	Allowed with consent	Define whether online access from outside the UK is breach or merely unavoidable.	Geo-blocking requirement, damages, termination and licence uplift.
Named-Country Territory	Exploiting the work in countries not listed in the licence.	High	Allowed with consent	List countries precisely and avoid vague regions unless defined.	Termination, damages and withdrawal from unlicensed markets.
No Worldwide Use	Treating a limited-territory licence as a global licence.	High	Allowed with consent	State whether CDN delivery, app stores and global platforms are permitted.	Additional royalties, takedown, injunction and damages.
Media restriction
No Online Use	Uploading or displaying the work on websites, apps or online platforms.	High	Allowed with consent	Specify permitted domains, platforms, formats, resolutions and access controls.	Takedown, suspension, termination and damages.
No Social Media Use	Posting the work on social media or granting platform terms over it.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Name permitted platforms and require compliance with platform licence terms.	Removal request, damages and loss of future rights.
Print-Only Licence	Using the work in digital, broadcast or online media.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Define print run, publication title, edition, placement and reprint rights.	Additional fees, injunction, termination and damages.
Digital-Only Licence	Using the work in print, physical products or offline advertising.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Identify permitted digital channels and exclude merchandise if not priced.	Damages, stock withdrawal and licence uplift.
No Broadcast Use	Using the work in television, radio, cinema, podcasts or streaming broadcasts.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Distinguish advertising, editorial, sponsorship, podcast and live-stream use.	Injunction, takedown, damages and broadcaster claims exposure.
Commercial restriction
No Merchandise Use	Applying the work to goods, packaging, apparel or promotional merchandise.	High	Allowed with consent	Exclude products, packaging and point-of-sale unless royalties are agreed.	Stock recall, account of profits, damages and termination.
No Advertising Use	Using the work in paid advertising, sponsorship or promotional campaigns.	High	Allowed with consent	Define organic marketing separately from paid media, PPC, influencer and out-of-home use.	Campaign takedown, additional licence fee, damages and termination.
Non-Commercial Use Only	Using the work for revenue generation, sales, paid services or business promotion.	High	Allowed with consent	Define commercial benefit, fundraising, sponsorship, ads and internal business use.	Commercial licence fee, damages, termination and injunction.
Use restriction
Internal Business Use Only	Sharing, publishing or exploiting the work outside the licensee organisation.	High	Allowed with consent	Define employees, contractors, group companies and external advisers.	Access revocation, damages, deletion and termination.
Transfer restriction
No Client Redistribution	Supplying the work to clients or customers as a deliverable or resource.	High	Allowed with consent	If agency use is allowed, state whether client receives direct rights.	Indemnity claims, termination, damages and end-user takedown.
No Group-Company Use	Allowing affiliates, subsidiaries or parent companies to use the work.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Define the licensee entity and any permitted group users by name.	Additional fees, termination and damages for unauthorised users.
No Assignment Of Licence	Transferring the licence or licensed rights to another person or entity.	High	Allowed with consent	Require prior written consent and address business sales or reorganisations.	Void transfer, termination, damages and injunctive relief.
No Novation Without Consent	Replacing the licensee with another contracting party without consent.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Require a signed novation agreement and continued compliance by the new party.	Unauthorised use, termination and payment acceleration.
Sub-licensing restriction
No Sub-Licensing	Granting third parties rights to use the work.	High	Allowed with consent	State whether contractors, platforms, distributors or end users may receive sub-licences.	Termination, downstream takedown, indemnity and damages.
No Further Sub-Licensing	Allowing an approved sub-licensee to grant further rights to others.	High	Prohibited	Require sub-licence terms to prohibit onward licensing and survive termination.	Termination, indemnity, downstream enforcement and damages.
Approved Contractor Use Only	Letting contractors use the work outside approved project support.	Medium	Usually allowed	Require contractors to be bound by equivalent confidentiality and use limits.	Licensee liability for contractor acts, termination and damages.
Modification restriction
No Modification	Editing, cropping, recolouring, remixing or otherwise changing the work.	High	Allowed with consent	Separate minor technical resizing from substantive creative edits.	Injunction, removal, damages and moral rights claims.
No Derivative Works	Creating new works based on or incorporating the licensed work.	High	Allowed with consent	Define ownership and permitted use of any approved derivative works.	Ownership dispute, injunction, delivery up and damages.
No Translation	Translating the work into another language or localising it for another market.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Address quality control, translator rights and ownership of translations.	Withdrawal, damages, termination and correction obligations.
No Cropping Or Context Change	Cropping, framing or presenting the work in a misleading or damaging context.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Link to moral rights, brand rules and approved layout requirements.	Removal, correction, damages and reputational harm claims.
No Derogatory Treatment	Treating the work in a way prejudicial to the authoru0027s honour or reputation.	High	Prohibited	Do not rely only on copyright address author moral rights expressly.	Moral rights claim, injunction, damages and public correction.
Attribution restriction
Mandatory Attribution	Using the work without the required credit or copyright notice.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Specify exact credit line, placement, size, metadata and exceptions.	Correction, takedown, damages and suspension until attribution is fixed.
No False Attribution	Crediting the wrong author or implying false authorship.	Medium	Prohibited	Include approved credit wording and prohibit misleading endorsement.	Correction, moral rights claim, damages and termination.
No Removal Of Copyright Notices	Removing, obscuring or altering copyright notices, watermarks or rights metadata.	High	Prohibited	Refer to visible notices, embedded metadata, watermarks and file names.	Immediate termination, takedown, damages and evidential presumptions.
No Implied Endorsement	Suggesting the licensor, author or rights holder endorses the licensee.	High	Allowed with consent	Control use near testimonials, sponsorship claims, logos and regulated products.	Removal, reputational damages, indemnity and termination.
Commercial restriction
No Resale	Selling access to or copies of the work as a standalone product.	High	Allowed with consent	Distinguish resale from permitted inclusion in a broader service.	Account of profits, damages, termination and sales takedown.
No Paywall Access	Placing the work behind paid subscription, membership or premium access.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Define whether indirect monetisation, ads or freemium tiers are included.	Revenue accounting, damages, access removal and termination.
No Training Course Resale	Using the work in paid courses, workshops or educational products.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Carve out internal staff training if intended.	Course removal, fees, damages and indemnity.
No Competing Product Use	Using the work to build, market or improve a competing product or service.	High	Prohibited	Define competitors, restricted fields and whether the restraint is reasonable.	Injunction, damages, account of profits and termination.
Use restriction
No Illegal Use	Using the work in unlawful, fraudulent or rights-infringing activities.	High	Prohibited	Include sanctions, fraud, IP infringement, defamation and regulatory breaches.	Immediate termination, indemnity, reporting and injunctive relief.
No Defamatory Or Harmful Context	Using the work with defamatory, obscene, hateful or reputationally harmful material.	High	Prohibited	Align with brand safety rules and author moral rights protections.	Immediate takedown, indemnity, damages and termination.
No Regulated Sector Use	Using the work for financial, medical, legal, gambling or political promotion.	Medium	Allowed with consent	List prohibited sectors and require regulatory compliance warranties.	Indemnity, immediate withdrawal, damages and termination.
No Political Use	Using the work in political campaigns, lobbying or issue advocacy.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Clarify party-political, public policy, campaign and election uses.	Takedown, reputational damages, indemnity and termination.
No Sensitive Association	Associating the work with adult, weapons, tobacco, alcohol or controversial content.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Include a schedule of sensitive categories and approval process.	Immediate removal, damages and termination.
No Use After Licence Term	Continuing to use, host, sell or display the work after the licence expires.	High	Allowed with consent	Specify wind-down, archival, stock sell-off and cached-copy periods.	Post-term infringement, injunction, damages and deletion obligation.
No Use After Termination	Using the work after termination for breach, insolvency or non-payment.	High	Prohibited	State immediate cessation, deletion, certification and survival of restrictions.	Injunction, damages, indemnity and continuing infringement claim.
Commercial restriction
No Use While Fees Unpaid	Using the work while licence fees, royalties or usage charges are overdue.	High	Prohibited	Link licence grant to cleared payment and reserve suspension rights.	Suspension, termination, interest, debt claim and infringement remedies.
Sub-licensing restriction
No Marketplace Distribution	Uploading the work to stock libraries, marketplaces or template platforms.	High	Prohibited	Name prohibited platforms and cover free as well as paid downloads.	Platform takedown, account of profits, indemnity and termination.
No Open Licence Relicensing	Releasing the work under Creative Commons, open-source or public licence terms.	High	Prohibited	Prohibit terms that allow public copying, modification or redistribution.	Irreversible dissemination risk, injunction, indemnity and damages.
Use restriction
No AI Training Or Model Development	Using the work to train, fine-tune, test or improve AI systems.	High	Allowed with consent	Cover training, fine-tuning, embeddings, evaluation, prompts, outputs and datasets.	Injunction, deletion, model-use restrictions, damages and indemnity.
No Text And Data Mining	Extracting, scraping or analysing the work for data mining beyond permitted exceptions.	High	Allowed with consent	Acknowledge UK non-commercial research exception and restrict other mining uses.	Access termination, deletion, damages and injunctive relief.
No Scraping Or Automated Extraction	Using bots, crawlers or automated tools to extract the work at scale.	High	Allowed with consent	Include rate limits, API rules, robots.txt, credentials and audit logs.	Access blocking, injunction, damages, deletion and indemnity.
No Dataset Inclusion	Including the work in datasets, corpora, indexes or searchable repositories.	High	Allowed with consent	Define whether internal search indexes and backups are excluded.	Dataset deletion, audit, damages and termination.
Modification restriction
No Reverse Engineering Or Source Extraction	Decompiling, reverse engineering or extracting source assets from the work.	Medium	Allowed with consent	For software, align with statutory exceptions for interoperability and backup.	Termination, injunction, confidentiality claim and damages.
Other restriction
No Circumvention Of Protection Measures	Removing, bypassing or disabling DRM, watermarking or access controls.	High	Prohibited	Cover passwords, tokens, encryption, download controls and forensic marks.	Immediate termination, access suspension, damages and injunction.
Transfer restriction
No Credential Sharing	Sharing login details, keys or access credentials for licensed content.	Medium	Prohibited	Set named-user, seat, IP, SSO or device limits.	Access suspension, audit, extra fees and termination.
Use restriction
Named User Or Seat Limit	Allowing more users to access the work than the licence permits.	High	Allowed with consent	Define named users, concurrent users, devices, sites and audit rights.	Back fees, audit costs, suspension and termination.
Print Run Limit	Printing more copies than the agreed quantity.	High	Allowed with consent	State copy count, edition, overrun tolerance and reprint approval.	Excess-copy fees, delivery up, damages and termination.
Media restriction
File Format Limit	Converting or distributing the work in unapproved file formats.	Low	Usually allowed	Allow necessary technical conversion while preserving quality and notices.	Correction, replacement files, damages if value is impaired.
Modification restriction
Quality Control Approval	Publishing altered layouts, proofs or integrations without approval.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Set approval timelines, deemed approval rules and brand guidelines.	Withdrawal, rework at licensee cost and termination.
Use restriction
No Use Outside Brand Guidelines	Using the work in a manner inconsistent with supplied brand or style rules.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Attach guidelines and state which rules are mandatory.	Correction, takedown, approval withdrawal and damages.
Media restriction
No Source File Use	Using, editing or sharing source files except for the licensed output.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Identify source files, working files, layered files and project files.	Return or deletion, damages, confidentiality claim and termination.
Use restriction
No Standalone Extraction From Compilation	Extracting individual works from a licensed compilation for separate use.	High	Allowed with consent	State whether each component has separate rights or only compilation use.	Infringement claim, injunction, damages and deletion.
No Substantial Database Extraction	Extracting or re-utilising a substantial part of a protected database.	High	Allowed with consent	If database rights exist, include separate extraction and re-utilisation wording.	Database right claim, injunction, damages and deletion.
No Excessive Quotation	Quoting more of the work than the licence or copyright exceptions permit.	Medium	Usually allowed	Set quotation limits while preserving fair dealing where applicable.	Correction, takedown, damages and termination for serious misuse.
Modification restriction
No Unapproved Parody Or Satire Use	Using the work in parody, caricature or pastiche beyond lawful fair dealing.	Medium	Usually allowed	Contract cannot remove statutory exceptions for third parties, but can limit licensed use.	Takedown, moral rights dispute, damages and termination.
Use restriction
No Educational Copying Beyond Licence	Copying for teaching or instruction beyond agreed scope or statutory limits.	Medium	Usually allowed	Address classroom use, VLEs, course packs, exam use and institution licences.	Access withdrawal, additional fees, takedown and damages.
No Library Or Archive Use Beyond Exceptions	Library, archive or preservation copying outside lawful exceptions or agreed terms.	Low	Usually allowed	Avoid blocking mandatory or policy-sensitive preservation rights unintentionally.	Correction, access limits and damages for non-excepted copying.
Transfer restriction
No Private Study Redistribution	Sharing copies made for research, private study or review with others.	Medium	Usually allowed	Separate personal fair dealing from licensed commercial or organisational use.	Takedown, deletion and damages for non-fair dealing use.
Modification restriction
Accessibility Format Carve-Out	Making accessibility copies for users with disabilities except where legally permitted.	Low	Usually allowed	Include an express exception for accessible formats where required by UK law.	Usually none if lawful otherwise deletion and corrective action.
Use restriction
No Retention Except Compliance Copies	Keeping copies after the licence ends except required compliance archives.	Medium	Usually allowed	Allow secure legal, audit and backup retention with no active use.	Deletion certification, audit, damages and injunction.
Other restriction
Deletion Certification Requirement	Failing to delete, return or certify destruction of licensed materials when required.	Medium	Not applicable	Specify deadline, officer certification and backup deletion schedule.	Injunction, audit, damages and continuing breach claim.
Audit And Usage Reporting Rights	Refusing to provide usage records or allow reasonable licence compliance audits.	Medium	Not applicable	Set notice, frequency, confidentiality, cost shifting and underpayment thresholds.	Presumed underuse breach, audit costs, suspension and termination.
Commercial restriction
Royalty Reporting Obligation	Failing to report sales, usage, impressions, downloads or other royalty metrics.	High	Not applicable	Define reporting periods, records, currencies, tax and audit reconciliation.	Interest, audit, termination, debt claim and damages.
Impression Or View Limit	Exceeding agreed ad impressions, views, downloads, streams or circulation limits.	Medium	Allowed with consent	State measurement method, overage fees and reporting evidence.	Overage charges, suspension, damages and termination.
Other restriction
Reserved Right To License Others	Claiming exclusivity or objecting to licensor licensing the work to others.	High	Prohibited	State non-exclusive status unless exclusivity is expressly granted.	Declaratory relief, termination and damages for interference.
Use restriction
Field-Of-Use Limit	Using the work outside the agreed industry, sector or product field.	High	Allowed with consent	Define the field narrowly and reserve all adjacent markets.	Injunction, damages, exclusivity loss and termination.
Media restriction
No Channel Expansion	Using the work in channels not listed in the licence schedule.	High	Allowed with consent	List email, web, app, print, broadcast, PR, events, retail and social channels.	Channel takedown, extra fee, damages and termination.
Commercial restriction
No Product Bundling	Bundling the work with third-party products or services without consent.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Distinguish ordinary use in deliverables from resale bundle monetisation.	Bundle withdrawal, damages, account of profits and termination.
Attribution restriction
No White-Labelling	Presenting the work as the licenseeu0027s own work or unbranded product.	High	Allowed with consent	State whether attribution, co-branding or anonymous use is permitted.	Correction, takedown, damages and false attribution claim.
Commercial restriction
No NFT Or Tokenisation Use	Minting, tokenising or associating the work with NFTs or blockchain assets.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Cover metadata, previews, smart contracts, marketplaces and resale royalties.	Marketplace takedown, account of profits, damages and indemnity.
Media restriction
No Virtual Goods Or Metaverse Use	Using the work in virtual worlds, avatars, digital goods or immersive environments.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Address game engines, virtual events, skins, avatars and in-app purchases.	Removal, revenue share claim, damages and termination.
Use restriction
No Biometric Or Recognition Use	Using images, recordings or data for facial, voice or object recognition systems.	High	Allowed with consent	Address privacy, data protection, consent, model training and sensitive data risks.	Termination, deletion, indemnity, regulatory exposure and damages.
No Personal Data Enrichment	Combining licensed content with personal data profiles or targeting datasets.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Include UK GDPR compliance, lawful basis and prohibited profiling uses.	Indemnity, deletion, termination, damages and regulatory notification risk.
Transfer restriction
No Disclosure Of Unpublished Work	Disclosing unpublished drafts, files or materials to unauthorised third parties.	High	Allowed with consent	Combine copyright restrictions with confidentiality obligations and permitted recipients.	Injunction, confidentiality claim, damages and termination.
Use restriction
No Pre-Release Publication	Publishing or revealing the work before the agreed release date or embargo expiry.	Medium	Allowed with consent	State embargo dates, time zones, launch channels and approval contacts.	Injunction, campaign losses, damages and termination.
Territorial restriction
Territory Embargo	Launching, publishing or selling in an embargoed territory before approval.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Use launch dates by country and require geo-targeting where practical.	Market withdrawal, damages, licence suspension and termination.
Other restriction
No Assumed Moral Rights Waiver	Assuming the author waived attribution, integrity or false attribution rights.	Medium	Prohibited	Obtain express written waiver if needed otherwise draft around moral rights.	Moral rights claim, correction, injunction and damages.
Use restriction
No Use Of Third-Party Elements Beyond Cleared Rights	Using embedded third-party content outside the rights cleared by the licensor.	High	Allowed with consent	Schedule third-party assets, clearance limits, collecting societies and exclusions.	Third-party claims, indemnity, takedown, damages and termination.
Other restriction
Collecting Society Rights Reserved	Using rights administered by PRS, PPL, CLA, DACS or other societies without clearance.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Identify rights excluded from the licence and who obtains society licences.	Society claims, licence fees, injunction and indemnity.
Performance Rights Reserved	Assuming public performance or music performance rights are included.	Medium	Allowed with consent	State whether separate PRS, PPL or venue permissions are required.	Licence fee claims, injunction, damages and indemnity.
Media restriction
Synchronisation Rights Reserved	Synchronising music, lyrics or audio with film, video, games or adverts.	High	Allowed with consent	Clear composition, master recording, performers and moral rights separately.	Video takedown, injunction, damages and third-party claims.
Mechanical Reproduction Rights Reserved	Reproducing musical works in physical or digital audio products without clearance.	Medium	Allowed with consent	State whether MCPS or publisher clearance is outside the licence.	Licence fee claims, damages, takedown and indemnity.
Modification restriction
No Software Modification Beyond Permitted Acts	Modifying software code except as expressly licensed or legally permitted.	High	Allowed with consent	Address maintenance, interoperability, error correction and source access.	Termination, support loss, injunction and damages.
Use restriction
Backup Copy Limit	Making backup copies beyond agreed operational or statutory software needs.	Medium	Usually allowed	Specify encrypted backups, disaster recovery, retention and restoration use.	Deletion, audit, damages and termination for excessive copying.
Media restriction
No Unapproved Cloud Hosting	Hosting the work on cloud services, SaaS tools or shared repositories without approval.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Name approved providers, regions, access controls and deletion duties.	Access revocation, deletion, security audit and damages.
Territorial restriction
No Offshore Hosting	Storing or hosting the work on servers outside permitted countries.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Define server location, backups, CDN nodes and data transfer constraints.	Migration order, suspension, damages and termination.
Media restriction
No High-Resolution Distribution	Providing high-resolution, editable or print-quality files to third parties.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Set pixel, DPI, bitrate, watermark and download restrictions.	File takedown, damages, deletion and termination.
Commercial restriction
No Template Or Generator Use	Embedding the work in templates, generators, design tools or reusable assets.	High	Allowed with consent	Prohibit reusable access by end users and downloadable editable copies.	Product takedown, account of profits, indemnity and termination.
Transfer restriction
No API Redistribution	Making the work available through an API, feed, plugin or integration.	High	Allowed with consent	Define permitted integrations, rate limits, caching and end-user rights.	API shutoff, deletion, damages, indemnity and termination.
Use restriction
No Persistent Caching	Retaining cached copies longer than technically necessary or agreed.	Low	Usually allowed	Allow transient technical copies but restrict persistent searchable caches.	Cache purge, access limits and damages for material misuse.
Media restriction
No Framing Or Embedding	Framing, embedding or hotlinking the work on unauthorised websites or apps.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Name permitted domains and require technical prevention of unauthorised embedding.	Domain blocking, takedown, damages and termination.
No Public Indexing	Allowing restricted content to be indexed by search engines or public archives.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Require noindex, robots controls, authentication and cache removal.	De-indexing, takedown, damages and access suspension.
Modification restriction
No Watermark Removal	Removing, cropping out or obscuring visible or invisible watermarks.	High	Prohibited	Mention forensic marks, copyright notices and proofing watermarks.	Immediate termination, damages, injunction and evidential adverse inference.
Attribution restriction
No Metadata Removal	Removing IPTC, EXIF, copyright, licence or rights-management metadata.	Medium	Prohibited	Require metadata preservation through resizing, export and publication workflows.	Correction, damages, audit and termination.
Sub-licensing restriction
No Platform Terms Conflict	Uploading the work where platform terms grant rights wider than the licence.	High	Allowed with consent	Review platform terms and limit uploads to approved platforms only.	Removal, indemnity, damages and termination.
Flow-Down Terms Required	Allowing permitted users access without equivalent licence restrictions.	High	Not applicable	Make licensee liable for employees, contractors, clients and sub-licensees.	Indemnity, termination, downstream takedown and damages.
Territorial restriction
No Sanctions Or Export-Control Use	Supplying the work to sanctioned persons, embargoed territories or prohibited end users.	High	Prohibited	Include sanctions warranties, screening obligations and immediate termination rights.	Immediate termination, indemnity, reporting and regulatory exposure.
Use restriction
No Deceptive Evidence Use	Using the work to mislead courts, regulators, customers or the public.	Medium	Prohibited	Important for photographs, documents, audio, video and AI-generated outputs.	Termination, indemnity, damages and possible reporting obligations.
Modification restriction
Author Approval For Material Edits	Publishing material edits without author or licensor approval.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Define material edits and approval standards to avoid disputes.	Correction, injunction, moral rights claim and damages.
Other restriction
Trade Marks And Branding Reserved	Using names, logos, trade marks or branding not expressly licensed.	High	Allowed with consent	Separate copyright licence from trade mark and passing off permissions.	Brand infringement claim, injunction, damages and termination.
Design Rights Reserved	Using product designs, surface decoration or industrial designs not licensed.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Separate copyright, unregistered design right and registered design permissions.	Injunction, damages, delivery up and termination.
Patent Rights Reserved	Assuming copyright permission includes rights to patented inventions or methods.	Low	Allowed with consent	Reserve patents where technical documentation or software is licensed.	Separate patent claim, injunction, damages and indemnity.
Ideas And Know-How Reserved	Claiming ownership of the licensoru0027s ideas, concepts, methods or know-how.	Medium	Prohibited	Copyright protects expression, not mere ideas reserve confidential know-how separately.	Confidentiality claim, injunction, damages and termination.
Transfer restriction
No Transfer Of Ownership	Treating the licence as an assignment or ownership transfer.	High	Prohibited	State ownership remains with licensor assignments require signed writing.	Declaratory relief, infringement claim, termination and damages.
Other restriction
No Registration Or Claim Of Rights	Registering, claiming or asserting IP rights in the licensed work or confusing variants.	High	Prohibited	Cover trade marks, designs, domain names, social handles and copyright claims.	Assignment demand, cancellation, injunction, damages and indemnity.
No Domain Name Or Account Registration	Registering domains, handles or accounts using the work, title or licensor branding.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Require transfer of infringing domains or handles on request.	Transfer order, takedown, damages and termination.
Transfer restriction
Change Of Control Consent	Allowing rights to pass through merger, acquisition or control change without consent.	Medium	Allowed with consent	State whether change of control is deemed assignment requiring consent.	Suspension, termination, renegotiation and damages.
No Insolvency Transfer	Transferring or continuing licence rights through insolvency proceedings without approval.	Medium	Allowed with consent	Address termination on insolvency subject to enforceability and essential supply rules.	Termination, access withdrawal, debt claim and return of materials.
Other restriction
No Implied Licence Beyond Deliverables	Using preparatory materials, drafts or unused concepts not included in final deliverables.	High	Allowed with consent	List licensed deliverables and reserve drafts, concepts and rejected versions.	Infringement claim, damages, injunction and deletion.
Use restriction
Preliminary Materials Reserved	Using sketches, drafts, source notes or working materials outside review purposes.	Medium	Allowed with consent	State whether review access creates any exploitation rights.	Deletion, damages, confidentiality claim and termination.
Attribution restriction
No Publicity About Licence	Announcing the licence or using the licensoru0027s name in publicity without approval.	Low	Allowed with consent	Control press releases, case studies, client lists and award submissions.	Publicity withdrawal, damages and termination for serious breach.
Use restriction
No Benchmarking Publication	Publishing performance, quality or comparison results based on the work.	Low	Allowed with consent	Useful for software, datasets, research materials and AI tools.	Withdrawal, correction, damages and confidentiality claim.
Attribution restriction
Approved Credit Placement Only	Moving, shrinking or hiding the required credit where it is ineffective.	Low	Allowed with consent	Specify prominence, location, hyperlink, hover text and mobile display.	Correction, takedown and damages for repeated breach.
Other restriction
Written Consent Requirement	Relying on oral approval, informal emails or conduct for expanded rights.	High	Not applicable	Define valid consent, authorised signatories and whether email is enough.	Use remains unlicensed termination, damages and injunction.

What Restrictions Should A UK Copyright Licence Agreement Include?

A UK copyright licence should define exactly what the licensee may do and reserve everything else to the copyright owner. The highest-risk restrictions usually cover purpose, territory, media, duration, modification, sub-licensing, assignment, attribution, commercial exploitation, AI training, and use after termination.

Why Do Reserved Rights Matter In A Copyright Licence?

Copyright owners keep the exclusive rights not expressly licensed. In the UK, copyright includes restricted acts such as copying, issuing copies, communicating the work to the public and making adaptations under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Clear reserved-rights wording helps prevent a broad interpretation that unintentionally permits valuable uses.

Which Restrictions Are Most Important For Commercial Protection?

Commercial use limits protect against unpriced revenue-generating exploitation.
Territory and media limits stop a narrow UK or online licence becoming worldwide or cross-platform.
No sub-licensing or assignment prevents loss of control over downstream users.
No modification, adaptation or derivative works preserves brand integrity and avoids uncontrolled new works.
No AI training, scraping or dataset use is increasingly important where copyright works are supplied digitally.

How Should Exceptions Be Drafted?

Exceptions should be specific and usually require prior written consent, except for narrow operational permissions such as internal backup copies, accessibility formats or legally mandatory uses. The agreement should state whether consent may be withheld, whether extra fees apply, and whether breach triggers suspension, termination, injunctive relief, damages, account of profits, delivery up, deletion or indemnity obligations.

Copyright Licence Restrictions and Reserved Rights

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FAQs

What are copyright licence restrictions in the United Kingdom?

In a UK copyright licence agreement, restrictions define what the licensee is not allowed to do with the copyrighted work. They commonly limit copying, distribution, sublicensing, adaptation, territory, duration, media formats, commercial use, and use outside the agreed purpose.

What are reserved rights in a Copyright Licence Agreement?

Why are restrictions important in a UK copyright licence agreement?

What restrictions are commonly included in a copyright licence?

Can a copyright licence be restricted by territory?

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