Clearing rights to use a work

Updated: 2026-08-28

Identifies who holds the rights, negotiates the scope of use, and completes the licence before you publish.

For music and recordings, rights usually sit with several holders at once — author, performer, phonogram producer — and each layer must be cleared separately. The limitations and exceptions page sets out when no permission is needed, so read it before ordering this.

• Who may perform this: Lawyer or a rights clearance provider
• Timeline: Depends on the rights holders' responses, usually 2–6 weeks
• How pricing works: Quoted by the number of works and layers of rights. Royalties payable to rights holders are a separate item they set themselves.

Deliverables

• Identification of the rights holder for each layer of rights
• Negotiation and completion of a licence covering the use you need

What you provide

• The specific work and how you intend to use it
• The release scope — channels, territories, duration

Contents

• Related rights — the layer above copyright
• When you may use a work without permission
• Works in the public domain — and the limits few people notice