They have no way of even knowing who the copyright holder <i>is</i> barring copyright registration which is optional and uncommon, let alone who actually has permission from that person.  There are already copyright penalties if someone wrongly claims to have permission.  That&#x27;s why it works the other way:  because trying to do things backwards imposes impossible demands on people trying to follow the law.<p>EDIT:  By way of example, there&#x27;s substantial controversy over who owns a copyright as famous as <i>Happy Birthday</i>.