OVERVIEW TO IMAGE LICENSES
THIS PHOTO FILMMAKING LICENSING GUIDE PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF HOW IMAGE RIGHTS, COMMERCIAL USAGE, AND COPYRIGHT WORK FOR PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO. IF YOU NEED MORE CONTEXT ON MY PROJECTS, YOU CAN ALSO VISIT MY PORTFOLIO PAGE FOR RELATED FILM AND PHOTO WORK. FOR GENERAL REFERENCE, YOU MAY ALSO FIND THE CREATIVE COMMONS WEBSITE USEFUL WHEN LEARNING ABOUT LICENSE TYPES.
WHY IMAGE LICENSES MATTER
IMAGES APPEAR EVERYWHERE TODAY. ESPECIALLY IN MARKETING, WHERE DESIGN DRIVES COMMUNICATION, PHOTOGRAPHS, ILLUSTRATIONS, AND VIDEOS ARE USED ACROSS BLOGS, WEBSITES, SOCIAL MEDIA, NEWSLETTERS, AND MORE. ALTHOUGH A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH PROVIDES THOUSANDS OF IMAGES, ONE IMPORTANT QUESTION REMAINS: ARE YOU ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO USE THEM?
THE ANSWER DEPENDS ON COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING. EACH IMAGE CARRIES ITS OWN USAGE RULES, AND PERMISSION MUST COME FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR FROM THE IMAGE’S LICENSE TYPE. BECAUSE OF THIS, UNDERSTANDING IMAGE LICENSING IS ESSENTIAL BEFORE USING VISUALS FOR ANY COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL PURPOSE.
COPYRIGHT REFERS TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS THAT PROTECT AN ORIGINAL CREATIVE WORK FROM THE MOMENT IT IS RECORDED IN A TANGIBLE FORM. TODAY, MANY IMAGE LICENSES EXIST, AND EACH GRANTS DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PERMISSION.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE IMAGE LICENSES?
IN MOST CASES, THE PHOTOGRAPHER OR ILLUSTRATOR RETAINS COPYRIGHT EVEN AFTER SUPPLYING THE WORK TO A CLIENT. WHEN A COMPANY HIRES A COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER, THEY ARE COMMISSIONING A CUSTOM IMAGE. HOWEVER, THEY STILL REQUIRE A LICENSE TO USE THE IMAGE FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES. ANYTHING BEYOND THAT LICENSE VIOLATES COPYRIGHT AND MAY LEAD TO FEES OR LEGAL ACTION.
IMAGE LICENSING HAS BECOME THE STANDARD WAY OF SELLING VISUAL CONTENT FOR EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING, AND COMMERCIAL USE. A LICENSE CAN OUTLINE CONDITIONS SUCH AS:
1) HOW THE IMAGE CAN BE USED (I.E., TYPE OF USE)
2) WHETHER THE USAGE RIGHTS ARE EXCLUSIVE OR NONEXCLUSIVE
3) THE DURATION OF THE LICENSE
4) WHERE THE IMAGE CAN OR CAN’T BE USED
5) WHO MAY USE THE IMAGE
6) LIMITATIONS IN USE OUTLINED BY THE SPECIFIC LICENSE (E.G., NO USE IN A LOGO).
WHY YOU NEED IMAGE LICENSES
IMAGE LICENSING WORKS MUCH LIKE BORROWING SOMETHING VALUABLE. FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU BORROW A FRIEND’S CAMERA BEFORE A TRIP, THEY WILL LIKELY EXPLAIN HOW TO USE IT, WHERE YOU CAN TAKE IT, AND WHEN TO RETURN IT. THEY MAY EVEN REQUEST CREDIT IF YOU POST THE PHOTOS ONLINE.
USING AN IMAGE WORKS THE SAME WAY. EVEN IF YOU BOUGHT THE PHOTO OR COMMISSIONED IT, YOU STILL NEED PERMISSION TO USE IT FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES — ESPECIALLY WHEN THE USAGE IS COMMERCIAL. THE PHOTOGRAPHER OWNS THE COPYRIGHT, AND THE LICENSE DEFINES HOW YOU MAY USE THE IMAGE.
THE MAIN TYPES OF IMAGE LICENSES
1) CREATIVE COMMONS (CC)
A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE ALLOWS THE USE OF AN IMAGE FREE OF CHARGE, PROVIDED YOU FOLLOW THE TERMS. MOST CC IMAGES REQUIRE PROPER CREDIT, AND MANY ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR COMMERCIAL USE. CREATIVE COMMONS ALSO INCLUDES CC0, WHICH PLACES A WORK IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND ALLOWS UNRESTRICTED REUSE.
2) COMMERCIAL IMAGE LICENSE
A COMMERCIAL LICENSE GRANTS PERMISSION TO USE AN IMAGE FOR SELLING A PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR IDEA. THIS USUALLY INVOLVES A LICENSING FEE.
3) ROYALTY-FREE (RF)
DESPITE THE NAME, ROYALTY-FREE IMAGES ARE NOT FREE. WITH AN RF LICENSE, YOU PAY ONCE AND GAIN BROAD, LONG-TERM USAGE RIGHTS. CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY, BUT THE IMAGE CAN USUALLY BE USED REPEATEDLY WITHOUT ADDITIONAL FEES.
4) RIGHTS-MANAGED (RM)
RIGHTS-MANAGED LICENSES ARE MORE RESTRICTIVE AND MORE EXPENSIVE. ALL USAGE MUST MATCH THE EXACT TERMS OF THE LICENSE — WHERE, HOW, AND HOW OFTEN THE IMAGE IS USED. BECAUSE RM IMAGES ARE CLOSELY CONTROLLED, THEY CAN PROVIDE EXCLUSIVITY, PREVENTING COMPETITORS FROM USING THE SAME IMAGE.
FIVE COMMON TYPES OF IMAGE LICENSING FOR MARKETING
1) SOCIAL MEDIA
ENSURE THE LICENSE COVERS ALL PLATFORMS, SIZES, AND SHARING RULES. SOME LICENSES REQUIRE CREDIT OR LINKING.
2) PAID DIGITAL ADS
EACH AD PLATFORM HAS UNIQUE IMAGE REQUIREMENTS. CONFIRM THAT YOUR LICENSE ALLOWS USE IN ALL NECESSARY SIZES.
3) ONLINE POINT OF SALE
IMAGE LICENSING APPLIES SEPARATELY TO EACH USE. VERIFY THAT PRODUCT LISTING IMAGES ARE PROPERLY COVERED.
4) PRINT PACKAGING
ALL PRINTED MATERIALS REQUIRE PROPER LICENSING.
5) BILLBOARD ADS
LARGE-SCALE ADVERTISING MUST ALWAYS BE EXPLICITLY PERMITTED BY THE LICENSE.
HOW MUCH DO IMAGE LICENSES COST?
COSTS VARY WIDELY. A LICENSE CAN BE FREE OR HIGHLY PRICED DEPENDING ON THE CREATOR, PLATFORM, AND INTENDED USE. MORE SPECIFIC OR EXCLUSIVE USAGE RIGHTS NORMALLY COST MORE.
WHAT COUNTS AS COMMERCIAL USE?
COMMERCIAL USE APPEARS WHEN AN IMAGE IS USED TO PROMOTE, ENDORSE, SELL, OR SUPPORT A PRODUCT OR SERVICE. THIS INCLUDES ADVERTISING, MARKETING, AND ANY USE INTENDED TO GENERATE REVENUE. EDITORIAL USE — SUCH AS NEWS REPORTING OR RESEARCH — IS TREATED DIFFERENTLY.
COPYRIGHT VS. FAIR USE
COPYRIGHT PROTECTS ORIGINAL WORK. FAIR USE ALLOWS LIMITED USE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL WITHOUT PERMISSION, USUALLY FOR NEWS, CRITICISM, TEACHING, OR RESEARCH. FAIR USE RARELY APPLIES TO COMMERCIAL IMAGERY.
WHO OWNS THE IMAGE RIGHTS?
THE CREATOR — PHOTOGRAPHER, ILLUSTRATOR, OR DESIGNER — OWNS FULL COPYRIGHT. EVEN WHEN HIRED TO PRODUCE THE IMAGE, THE CREATOR RETAINS OWNERSHIP UNLESS RIGHTS ARE FORMALLY TRANSFERRED. MOST PLATFORMS OBTAIN PERMISSION TO LICENSE WORK BUT DO NOT OWN THE CONTENT THEMSELVES.
WHO CAN LEGALLY OFFER IMAGE LICENSES?
ONLY THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OR A PLATFORM WITH CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS CAN GRANT IMAGE LICENSES.
WHAT IF A PERSON APPEARS IN THE IMAGE?
IF SOMEONE IS IDENTIFIABLE AND THE IMAGE IS USED COMMERCIALLY, YOU USUALLY NEED THEIR PERMISSION VIA A MODEL RELEASE. THIS APPLIES EVEN IF THE PERSON WAS HIRED AS PART OF THE SHOOT.
WHAT IF YOU HIRE A MODEL/PERSON AS PART OF A PHOTOSHOOT FOR YOUR IMAGE?
IF YOU HIRED A MODEL/PERSON AS PART OF A PHOTOSHOOT FOR YOUR IMAGE, THE RULE OF THUMB IS ALWAYS TO OBTAIN THEIR PERMISSION FOR YOU TO USE THE IMAGE THROUGH A MODEL RELEASE FORM. EVEN IF YOU’RE UNSURE WHETHER YOU’D NEED IT, ALWAYS GET A MODEL’S PERMISSION THROUGH A RELEASE FORM.
USING IMAGES THAT INCLUDE PEOPLE
STOCK PLATFORMS GENERALLY PROVIDE MODEL RELEASES FOR IMAGES THEY DISTRIBUTE. IMAGES FOUND ELSEWHERE — SUCH AS THROUGH GOOGLE — REQUIRE YOU TO VERIFY THE LICENSE YOURSELF. ALWAYS CONFIRM COMMERCIAL USAGE RIGHTS WHEN WORKING WITH IMAGES OF PEOPLE.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU USE AN IMAGE WITHOUT PERMISSION?
USING AN IMAGE WITHOUT PROPER LICENSING CAN RESULT IN PENALTIES RANGING FROM WARNING LETTERS TO LEGAL ACTION. BECAUSE IMAGES ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT, HAVING THE CORRECT LICENSE IS ESSENTIAL FOR EVERY USE CASE.