A license is a type of contract used when one party would like to obtain the rights to use someone else’s protected intellectual property. UW engages in many such licenses for use of protected material, including:
- Music performances
- Certain software use
- Digital library materials
The University has obtained rights to use many types of copyrighted materials under license agreements. In general, University faculty, students, and staff may use works within the terms of the license for their university activities.
Music performance at UW events – See information on UW Copyright Connection : Licenses : Music Performance Licenses
Use of site licensed software by UW faculty, staff and students – See information on UW Computing and Communications: Respecting Copyrights.
Digital library materials by UW faculty, staff and students – See information at UW Libraries Responsible Use of Electronic Resources.
The number of licenses for site use of certain software programs and digital databases in the libraries and elsewhere are too numerous to include here. Users of such materials are encouraged to discuss any specific questions regarding use of these materials with the links found on appropriate pages for additional information.
Music Performance Licenses
The University of Washington has entered into blanket agreements with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) , the Society of European Songwriters, Artists and Composers (SESAC), and Global Music Rights (GMR).
The agreements allow university faculty, students, and staff to play music at many University functions. (Note: the agreements do not allow for music to be played while simultaneously accompanied by video. This example would require an additional sync license which the blanket agreements do not cover.)
It is necessary to check the individual music catalogs to determine if the music you want to play is covered by one or more of the organizations. The music may be covered by more than one license. This is general information on the rights licensed from each of the organizations.
If your intended use is outside the scope of the licenses, or you want to use music not in any of the catalogs, you may need to obtain permission before you proceed.
The catalogs for each organization can be found below: