A licence of copyright and an assignment of copyright are different in several ways:
| Licence of Copyright | Assignment of Copyright | |
| Definition | A licence by which a copyright holder (“licensor”) can give additional copyright permissions to anyone or everyone (“licensee”) in the public. | An assignment allows a copyright holder (“assignor”) to transfer their copyright ownership to another person or organisation (“assignee”). |
| Transfer of Copyright Ownership | It does not transfer copyright ownership from the copyright owner to another person. | It transfers copyright ownership from the copyright owner to another person. |
| How to make it effective? | A licence must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the owner of the copyright. You may find a template of a copyright licence here | An assignment must also be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the owner of the copyright. You may find a template of a copyright assignment here |
| Entitlement to legal rights | A licensee has the right to conduct certain acts in relation to the work for an agreed period, e.g. making copies of the work or distributing copies of the work within the market. | An assignee has all the rights related to the copyright of the work. |
| Entitlement to legal remedies | A licensee is not entitled to sue an infringer in their own name without joining the copyright owner as the co-plaintiff or co-defendant. | An assignee is entitled to sue an infringer in their own name as an exclusive assignee. |