Bases for Copyright Licences to be Implied
This chapter discusses the bases on which copyright licences can be implied. It begins by looking at analogies in other areas of private law dealing with implication. The most elaborate doctrine of implication are the rules of implication of a term into a contract—implied in fact, implied by custom, and implied by law. These are known to private law as sources of private and public ordering, which apply as much to the actions of persons vis-à-vis other persons (such as entering into a contract), as they do to the actions of persons vis-à-vis persons in relation to property (such as granting a licence). It follows that these also form the basis on which express copyright licences arise. The bases for implying copyright licences must be the same as the bases for express copyright licences to arise, because the courts cannot do by way of implication what they could not have done if there was an express provision. This way, the exercise of the discretion that the courts have in implying copyright licences is made more transparent and predictable, fostering legitimacy and coherence in the process. Accordingly, the bases for implying copyright licences are: the consent of the copyright owner (consent-based); an established usage in a trade or an industry (custom-based); and state intervention to achieve policy objectives (policy-based).