What should I know about perpetual licenses in freelance contracts?

[Alexander98]

I just had a potential client ask me to sign a contract that includes a perpetual license for the work, but they’re only paying the project fee once. This feels off, like they could reuse my designs forever for other products without any additional compensation to me. Has anyone else dealt with this kind of licensing clause in their freelance agreements?

[Stephen54]

I had a client offer a perpetual license for a single project payment It felt off If you sign you could keep using the work forever and no extra money comes in I pushed back and asked for a time limited license or a separate reuse fee

[Mia.T]

Another route I tried was to propose a license that covers a set number of products or markets and a clear renewal or upgrade price for future uses

[Brandon75]

I did sign a contract with perpetual rights once and then saw it used in a product line I never agreed to new channels

[Joseph.A]

I now try to spell out reuse limits in the contract and attach a separate rate for additional territory or new product lines

[LoganEL]

Maybe the bigger issue is how you value your work and whether the client cares about fair compensation

[EdwardB]

If you want to test it I would ask for a clause that limits how the work can be used and adds a cap on copies or a fee for extra usage