Licensing your creative work is one of the most powerful ways to earn money from it — without giving it away. But for most Canadian creators, the world of licences feels like a legal maze. This guide cuts through the jargon and tells you exactly what you need to know.
What Is a Creative Licence, Exactly?
A licence is simply permission. When someone wants to use your work — your song, your photo, your illustration, your writing — they need your permission to do so legally. A licence is how you give (or deny) that permission, and on what terms.
Licences can be:
- Exclusive — only the licensee can use the work; even you can’t grant it to anyone else
- Non-exclusive — you can licence the same work to multiple people simultaneously
- Royalty-bearing — the licensee pays you each time the work is used
- One-time — a flat fee for a defined use
The default in Canadian copyright law is simple: no licence means no permission. Your work is protected from the moment of creation.
The Four Most Common Licence Types
1. Personal Use The licensee can use the work for non-commercial, private purposes — printing a photo for their home, for example. Usually the lowest-value licence.
2. Editorial Use Used in news, commentary, education, or journalism. Commercial use is typically prohibited. Common in magazine and news photography licensing.
3. Commercial Use The licensee uses the work for commercial purposes — advertising, product packaging, marketing. This carries the highest risk of overexposure and should command higher fees.
4. Exclusive Use The licensee has sole rights to use the work for a defined period and territory. Exclusive licences should always command a premium — you’re giving up the ability to licence the same work to anyone else during that time.
How to Handle a Licence Request
Receiving a licence request is exciting — it means someone values your work enough to pay for it. Here’s how to handle it professionally:
- Confirm what they want to use — the specific work, how, where, and for how long
- Determine commercial vs. personal — commercial use should always cost more
- Set a territory and term — Canada only? Worldwide? For one year? Forever?
- Negotiate in writing — even a simple email thread creates a record
- Get paid before they use it — licences should be paid upfront or on a clear schedule
A timestamp record of your work (like a PTC Coin certificate) is valuable at this stage: it proves you created it before any dispute can arise about ownership.
What Canadian Copyright Law Says About Licences
Under the Copyright Act (Canada), copyright belongs to the author of a work — the person who created it — from the moment of creation. You don’t need to register anything to own your copyright. But registration (with CIPO, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office) does give you the ability to sue for statutory damages.
Key point: a blockchain timestamp does not replace CIPO registration for the purpose of statutory damages. What it does is create a timestamped, tamper-evident record of your work’s existence at a specific point in time — which is powerful evidence if a dispute goes to court.
- CIPO registration costs around $50–$65 CAD per work
- It’s optional but recommended for high-value commercial works
- You can register at cipo.ic.gc.ca directly
Disability Creators and Licensing
If you’re a creator with a disability, licensing can be a lifeline for sustainable income — especially if you cannot maintain a traditional employment schedule. A well-structured licensing arrangement provides recurring income from work you’ve already made.
Tips for disabled creators:
- Prefer non-exclusive licences to maintain income diversity
- Use clear, written agreements even for small uses
- Blockchain-timestamp your work before sharing it with potential licensees — it protects your negotiating position
- Consider accessibility clauses in commercial licences (e.g., requiring accessible formats)
Setting Licence Fees: A Starting Point
There’s no single formula, but here are common starting points for Canadian creators:
| Use Type | Starting Range (CAD) |
|---|---|
| Personal, one-time | $25 – $150 |
| Editorial, single publication | $100 – $500 |
| Commercial, regional | $500 – $2,500 |
| Commercial, national campaign | $2,500 – $25,000+ |
| Exclusive, full buyout | 3–5× commercial rate |
These figures vary dramatically by industry, audience size, and your own profile. Research what similar creators charge, and never undervalue your work just because you’re new.
How PTC Coin Helps With Licensing
When someone submits a licence request through your PTC Coin proof page, you receive it directly in your Licences dashboard. From there you can:
- Approve, decline, or mark a request as Under Negotiation
- Email the requester directly from within the platform
- Keep a full record of every request and decision
Every registered work gets a public proof page at ptc-coin.bywillo.ai/proof/[id] — share that link to make it easy for potential licensees to find and contact you.
Start protecting your work and managing licence requests at ptc-coin.bywillo.ai/signup — your first five registrations are on us.