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4. Irrevocable Licenses
An easement is distinct from a license. A license is permission from the owner to enter the land. Because it is permissive, it is revocable. Many difficulties with distinguishing easements from licenses arise when parties fail to clearly bargain over the right to use land. See, e.g., Willow Tex, Inc. v. Dimacopoulos, 503 N.E.2d 99, 100 (N.Y. 1986) (“The writing must establish unequivocally the grantor’s intent to give for all time to come a use of the servient estate to the dominant estate. The policy of the law favoring unrestricted use of realty requires that where there is any ambiguity as to the permanence of the restriction to be imposed on the servient estate, the right of use should be deemed a license, revocable at will by the grantor, rather than an easement.”).
Under the right circumstances, a license may become irrevocable.
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