When I have the right to use/copy/publish/distribute/etc. content, does this also imply the right to license the content?
<p>I have a website (hosted in the US) where users can publish their content. Per my terms of service, the users license their content to me so that I have the right to</p>

<ul>
<li>use, </li>
<li>copy, </li>
<li>cache, </li>
<li>publish, </li>
<li>display, </li>
<li>distribute, </li>
<li>modify,  </li>
<li>store, and</li>
<li>create derivative works of</li>
</ul>

<p>this content.</p>

<p>Do these rights allow me <strong>to license</strong> this content under a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_copyright_license" rel="nofollow noreferrer">public copyright license</a>? Or would the list in my ToS have to explicitly contain "to (publicly) license"?</p>

<h3>Example</h3>

<p>Currently, I would display a user-generated poem (authored and uploaded by  the user named Matsuo Bashō) like this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>Old pond<br>
  frogs jumped in<br>
  sound of water</em></p>
  
  <p>Author: Matsuo Bashō</p>
</blockquote>

<p>If I’m allowed to license the poem, I would display it like this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>Old pond<br>
  frogs jumped in<br>
  sound of water</em></p>
  
  <p>Author: Matsuo Bashō<br>
  License: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CC BY-SA 4.0</a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>The stated terms listed  do not give you the right to use a CC commons license with respect of the work. </p>

<p>More broadly nothing therein gives you the right to let others make copies or redistribute the work. Copyright vests in the creator and the creator has not been required to give you the right to put the work into the public domain.</p>

<p>To the extent these are "boilerplate" terms and conditions they appear to me to be designed to protect the website operator from liability with respect of publishing the work rather then give them any rights to ownership - specifically <strong>they do not give you ownership rights - which are required for setting a license.</strong></p>

united-states copyright licensing