IMAGES ARE USED EVERYWHERE TODAY. ESPECIALLY IN MARKETING, WHERE DESIGN IS INTEGRAL, PHOTOGRAPHS, ILLUSTRATIONS AND VIDEOS ARE USED IN MULTIPLE PLACES – BLOGS, WEBSITES, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS, NEWSLETTERS, ETC. WHILE A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH WILL GIVE YOU THOUSANDS OF IMAGES, THEREIN LIES A BIG QUESTION: ARE YOU ALLOWED TO USE THESE IMAGES? THE ANSWER DEPENDS ON EACH PHOTO, AS PERMISSION TO USE A PICTURE COMES FROM ITS COPYRIGHT OR LICENSE TYPE.

COPYRIGHT DEFINES A TYPE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THAT PROTECTS ORIGINAL WORKS OF AUTHORSHIP AS SOON AS AN AUTHOR FIXES THE WORK IN A TANGIBLE FORM OF EXPRESSION. MANY IMAGE LICENSES ARE OUT THERE TODAY, AND THEY ALL COME WITH DIFFERENT PERMISSIONS.

IN MOST CASES, THE ARTIST OR PHOTOGRAPHER RETAINS THE COPYRIGHT TO THE WORK PRODUCED, EVEN AFTER THE PRODUCT HAS BEEN GIVEN OVER TO THE CLIENT. WHEN A COMPANY HIRES A COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER, THEY AREN’T JUST PAYING FOR A SERVICE; THEY’RE ASKING THE ARTIST TO CREATE A CUSTOM IMAGE FOR THEIR BRAND. THEN, THEY MUST GET PERMISSIONS IN THE FORM OF A LICENSE TO USE THAT IMAGE FOR SPECIFIC USES. ANYTHING OUTSIDE THOSE USES VIOLATES THE COPYRIGHTS AND COULD RESULT IN FEES OR LEGAL ACTION. IMAGE LICENSING HAS BECOME THE INDUSTRY-STANDARD METHOD FOR SELLING VISUAL CONTENT FOR EDITORIAL, COMMERCIAL, AND ADVERTISING USE. AN IMAGE LICENSE CAN INCLUDE SPECIFIC 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).

THINK OF IMAGE LICENSING AS ASKING PERMISSION TO BORROW SOMETHING YOU NEED THAT YOU DON’T HAVE. FOR EXAMPLE, SAY YOU’RE GOING ON A HOLIDAY TOMORROW AND WOULD LIKE TO BORROW YOUR FRIEND’S DIGITAL CAMERA. THEY MAY SHARE HOW TO USE IT, WHERE YOU CAN USE IT AND WHEN TO RETURN IT. YOUR FRIEND MAY EVEN ASK FOR CREDIT IF YOU POST THE PHOTOS YOU TOOK WITH THEIR CAMERA ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA. SIMILARLY, IT WOULD BE BEST TO HAVE PERMISSION WITH IMAGE LICENSING BECAUSE YOU ARE USING SOMEONE ELSE’S PROPERTY. THEY OWN THE COPYRIGHT AS THEY CREATED IT, AND NOW YOU NEED THEIR CONSENT TO USE IT. THIS ESPECIALLY APPLIES IF YOU’RE USING IT FOR COMMERCIAL USE, LIKE MARKETING.

WHEN USING IMAGES FOR MARKETING, THERE ARE A FEW TYPES OF IMAGE LICENSES YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT. THE MAIN ONES ARE CREATIVE COMMONS (CC), COMMERCIAL, ROYALTY-FREE, AND RIGHTS-MANAGED.

1) CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGE LICENSE (CC)
A CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGE LICENSE MEANS YOU CAN USE THE IMAGE FREE OF CHARGE IF YOU COMPLY WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OUTLINED IN THE PERMIT. CREATED BY CREATIVE COMMONS, A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION, CREATIVE COMMONS IMAGE LICENSES USUALLY ALWAYS REQUIRE YOU TO CREDIT THE IMAGE CREATOR AND MAY NOT ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE FOR COMMERCIAL USE. IN ADDITION, THERE ARE SIX DIFFERENT TYPES OF CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSES, ALL OF WHICH YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT ON CREATIVECOMMONS.ORG. THE CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE ALSO INCLUDES THE CC0 (OR CC ZERO) IMAGE LICENSE. IMAGES WITH A CC0 LICENSE ALLOW YOU TO “FREELY BUILD UPON, ENHANCE AND REUSE THE WORKS FOR ANY PURPOSES WITHOUT RESTRICTION UNDER COPYRIGHT OR DATABASE LAW.”

2) COMMERCIAL IMAGE LICENSE
A COMMERCIAL IMAGE LICENSE MEANS YOU CAN USE AN IMAGE “WITH THE INTENT AND PURPOSES OF SELLING A PRODUCT, SERVICE OR IDEA.” THIS WOULD USUALLY INVOLVE A FEE, SOMETIMES KNOWN AS THE LICENSING FEE, ENABLING YOU TO USE THE IMAGE FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.

3) ROYALTY-FREE (RF) IMAGE LICENSE
JUST BECAUSE THERE’S THE WORD “FREE” IN ‘ROYALTY-FREE’ DOESN’T MEAN THAT IMAGES WITH A ROYALTY-FREE LICENSE ARE FREE FOR USE! ROYALTY-FREE LICENSES HAVE BECOME THE DEFAULT LICENSE TYPE FOR MANY PHOTOS TODAY. AN IMAGE WITH A ROYALTY-FREE LICENSE MEANS YOU CAN “USE THE IMAGE FOR ANY AMOUNT OF TIME” WHEN YOU PAY A SINGLE INITIAL FEE. WHILE SOME CONDITIONS OR RESTRICTIONS MAY BE TIED TO A ROYALTY-FREE IMAGE LICENSE, IMAGES THAT COME WITH THIS LICENSE CAN USUALLY BE USED UNLIMITED TIMES. ROYALTY-FREE LICENSES TYPICALLY COME WITH THE STANDARD VERSION, THOUGH THERE IS AN EXTENDED VERSION.

4) RIGHTS-MANAGED (RM) IMAGE LICENSE
RIGHTS-MANAGED LICENSES ARE MORE RESTRICTIVE AND EXPENSIVE IMAGE LICENSES, AS “YOU NEED TO RE-LICENSE THE IMAGE TO USE IT AGAIN IN A DIFFERENT MEDIUM.” IN SHORT, A RIGHTS-MANAGED LICENSE IS ONE WHERE YOU (THE BUYER) HAVE TO USE THE IMAGE WITHIN THE TERMS OF THE LICENSE, E.G., WHERE YOU USE THE IMAGE, HOW LONG OR HOW MANY TIMES YOU CAN USE THE IMAGE, SIZE RESTRICTIONS, INDUSTRIES YOU CAN USE THE IMAGE IN. EVERY IMAGE USED IS ACCOUNTED FOR UNDER A RIGHTS-MANAGED LICENSE SO THAT YOU CAN USE THE IMAGE EXCLUSIVELY. AS A RESULT, A COMPETITOR WILL NOT BE ABLE TO LICENSE THE EXACT IMAGE YOU ARE USING, WHICH “SOMETIMES BECOMES A PROBLEM WITH ROYALTY-FREE WHERE ANYONE CAN DOWNLOAD AND USE [AN] IMAGE.”

1) SOCIAL MEDIA
MAKE SURE THE LICENSE INCLUDES ALL NECESSARY PLATFORMS AND REQUIRED SIZES, AND CHECK THE LEVELS OF SHARING, TOO. SOME LICENSES MAY REQUIRE YOU TO PROVIDE A LINK OR CITE THE PHOTOGRAPHER OR BUSINESS AS WELL.

2) PAID DIGITAL ADS
BEFORE BOOKING A PHOTOSHOOT FOR DIGITAL AD IMAGES, CHECK THE SIZES THAT YOU’LL NEED FOR YOUR ADS UP FRONT. FACEBOOK ADS, GOOGLE ADS, AND OTHER PAID ADS ALL HAVE UNIQUE IMAGE CRITERIA, SO YOU’LL NEED TO BE SURE YOUR LICENSE INCLUDES THE CORRECT SIZES.

3) ONLINE POINT OF SALE
REMEMBER, YOU NEED IMAGE LICENSING AND SPECIFIC PERMISSIONS FOR EACH SEPARATE IMAGE USE. MAKE SURE “POINT OF SALE” IMAGES ARE COVERED.

4) PRINT PACKAGING
ALL THIS TALK ABOUT DIGITAL IMAGES—BUT DON’T FORGET YOUR PRINT MATERIAL, TOO!

5) BILLBOARD ADS
MAKE SURE TO GET PERMISSION FROM THE CREATOR OF THE IMAGE BEFORE YOU GO BIG!

IMAGE LICENSES CAN COST ANYTHING FROM 0 TO UPWARDS TO WHATEVER THE CREATOR WANTS TO CHARGE. THE COST OF AN IMAGE LICENSE DIFFERS FROM CREATOR TO CREATOR OR FROM LICENSING PLATFORM TO LICENSING PLATFORM.

COMMERCIAL USE OF AN IMAGE IS ONE OF TWO MAIN TYPES COVERED IN IMAGE LICENSE AGREEMENTS. THE OTHER IS EDITORIAL USE. COMMERCIAL USE OF AN IMAGE MEANS THAT YOU WILL BE USING THE IMAGE FOR PUBLICITY GAIN THAT MAY RESULT IN PROFIT, FOR EXAMPLE, USING THE IMAGE IN ADS, PRODUCT PROMOTION/ENDORSEMENT, OR ANYTHING RELATED TO MARKETING IN ANY MEDIUM. SHOULD YOU USE AN IMAGE THIS WAY, YOU’LL HAVE TO USE A PICTURE WITH A LICENSE THAT PERMITS COMMERCIAL USE.

SIMPLY PUT, COPYRIGHT “IS USED TO PROTECT AN ORIGINAL WORK,” AND FAIR USE IS “THE RIGHT TO USE A COPYRIGHTED WORK UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER.” IN THE UNITED STATES, A FEW CONDITIONS DETERMINE FAIR USE, E.G., NON-COMMERCIAL USE OF A WORK IN THE CASE OF NEWS REPORTING, TEACHING, RESEARCH, ETC. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE. WHEN IT COMES TO IMAGES, FAIR USE ALLOWS YOU TO USE A PHOTO PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT IF YOU DON’T MAKE MONEY OFF IT AND DON’T CLAIM IT AS YOUR OWN.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, WHOEVER CREATED THE IMAGE (E.G., THE PHOTOGRAPHER WHO TOOK THE PHOTO OR THE DESIGNER WHO DREW THE PICTURE) HAS THE FULL COPYRIGHT. THE CREATOR HAS FULL RIGHTS TO COPY, REPRODUCE, SHARE OR USE THE IMAGE IN ANY WAY THEY WISH. EVEN IF YOU COMMISSION A PHOTO OR ILLUSTRATION, THE CREATOR WILL STILL BE THE OWNER OF IT. THEY MAY “GRANT YOU AN UNLIMITED LICENSE …, BUT LEGAL OWNERSHIP STAYS” WITH THEM. FOR EXAMPLE, PEXELS’ TERMS AND CONDITIONS STATE THAT A CREATOR WHO UPLOADS THEIR IMAGES ON THEIR PLATFORM “GRANT US A WORLDWIDE, NON-EXCLUSIVE, PERMANENTLY, IRREVOCABLE, ROYALTY-FREE LICENSE (WITH THE RIGHT TO SUBLICENSE) TO REPRODUCE, ADAPT AND MODIFY (INCL. TRANSLATION), DISTRIBUTE, PUBLICLY PERFORM, PUBLICLY DISPLAY, BROADCAST, MAKE AVAILABLE, STORE AND ARCHIVE AND OTHERWISE USE SUCH CONTENT (IN WHOLE OR IN PART) ON AND THROUGH THE SERVICE.” THE OWNERSHIP OF IMAGE RIGHTS WILL STILL BELONG TO THE IMAGE CREATOR AS YOU WOULD BE “BUYING A LICENSE THAT GIVES YOU RIGHTS TO USE” THE IMAGE, BUT YOU WOULD NOT OWN THE RIGHTS TO THE PICTURE.

ARE YOU THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OF THE IMAGE? IF SO, THEN YOU CAN, AS THE IMAGE IS YOURS! AS PIXSY EXPLAINS, “YOU HAVE TO BE EITHER THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THE PHOTO OR BE AUTHORIZED BY THE ORIGINAL CREATOR TO LICENSE THEIR IMAGES AND GRANT PHOTO USAGE RIGHTS ON THEIR BEHALF.” IT’S ALSO POSSIBLE FOR IMAGE PLATFORMS OR LICENSING AGENCIES TO “GRANT PHOTO USAGE RIGHTS ON BEHALF OF THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR IF THEY HAVE CONTRACTUALLY AGREED TO DO SO.”

IF A PERSON IS IDENTIFIABLE IN AN IMAGE AND YOU WANT TO USE IT FOR COMMERCIAL USE, I.E., TO PROMOTE SOMETHING OR MAKE MONEY OFF IT, THEN YES, YOU DO NEED THEIR PERMISSION. THIS IS PRETTY MUCH “COMMON LAW” IN THE COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY.

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.

IF YOU WANT TO USE IMAGES WITH PEOPLE IN THEM, THIS WOULD DEPEND ON WHERE YOU GET THE PHOTO FROM. GETTING IT FROM STOCK IMAGE PLATFORMS ALLOWS YOU TO USE THEM DUE TO THEIR AGREEMENTS WITH THE IMAGE CREATOR. IF GETTING THE IMAGE FROM GOOGLE, IT WOULD BE ADVISABLE TO CHECK IF IT IS FREE FOR COMMERCIAL USE. IF YOU WERE TO USE AN IMAGE WITH MODELS FROM DESIGN WEBSITES, IT WOULD DEPEND ON WHAT LICENSE THE WEBSITE ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE. FOR MEDIAMODIFIER, WE’VE OBTAINED A MODEL RELEASE FOR ALL PICTURES FEATURING REAL PEOPLE. THEREFORE, THIS MAKES IT AFFORDABLE AND SAFE FOR YOU TO USE OUR PLATFORM TO CREATE YOUR DESIGNS WITH REAL PEOPLE COMPARED TO HIRING A MODEL AND DOING A PHOTOSHOOT YOURSELF.

AS IMAGES ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT, THERE MAY BE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU STEAL A PICTURE. THE CONSEQUENCES OF STEALING AN IMAGE CAN RANGE FROM A FINE AND A DEMAND LETTER FROM A LAWYER TO A COURT ORDER AND LEGAL ACTION. HENCE, IT IS ALWAYS ADVISABLE TO ENSURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE AN IMAGE (REMEMBER, THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM OWNERSHIP RIGHTS) BY CHECKING WHAT LICENSE THE IMAGE HAS!