"Is an e-learning content usage agreement and intellectual property rights usage permission enough?"

Law firm Veat received a request from an IT company (hereinafter referred to as ‘client’) and reviewed and drafted an intellectual property (IP) content usage agreement.

The client intended to develop its e-learning platform by utilizing some of the educational content self-produced by an instructor. Accordingly, a contract was necessary to allow the legitimate use of this content.

In this consultation, it was essential to clearly reflect in the contract the extent, format, and duration of content usage. Therefore, it was necessary to thoroughly examine whether the relationship between the content creator (instructor) and the client was merely a ‘one-time usage permission’ or whether they were ‘granted repetitive and comprehensive usage rights’.

Considering this situation, Law firm Veat clarified the scope of use and focused on reviewing and drafting the intellectual property content usage agreement, with key principles such as ▲contract period and termination conditions, ▲creation of derivative works, ▲copyright notation and protection obligations, ▲compensation and profit distribution.

Furthermore, from the instructor’s perspective, it was important that their creation was not used without permission and that appropriate compensation was provided. Conversely, from the client’s perspective, it was important to guarantee stable and continuous use of the content. Law firm Veat considered the interests of both parties and focused on establishing fair rights and obligations in completing the contract.

These days, the demand for e-learning services is rapidly increasing, and how to acquire and utilize educational content is a practical challenge facing many IT companies. Especially when services are structured by utilizing content created by external creators such as instructors, intellectual property-related legal issues must be carefully examined.

It is particularly important to find a balance that satisfies both the user and provider regarding the work. To achieve this, it is desirable to receive assistance from a legal expert specializing in intellectual property and meticulously design provisions regarding rights attribution and usage methods.

Law firm Veat has extensive advisory experience specializing in IT, content, and intellectual property fields. In particular, it has a high understanding of issues such as content utilization, platform operation, and license agreements for startups and IT companies, and has provided practical solutions.

Law firm Veat operates a TIP (Technology & Intellectual Property) team specializing in intellectual property. The TIP team has focused on providing legal advice and dispute resolution in the copyright and intellectual property fields, and provides practical legal advice in line with the rapidly changing content and IT industry environment.

The TIP team also systematically and reliably advises on content usage agreements and rights protection, accurately grasping the actual business structure of the content, clearly organizing contractual rights and obligations, and considering dispute prevention.

If you need legal advice regarding content contracts or copyright issues, please contact Law firm Veat.

This case study can also be found on the Law firm Veat blog below.

- Is permission to use e-learning content and intellectual property sufficient?

​Thank you.

Law firm Veat