What exactly is a photography license?
A common stumbling block among new photographers is how to sell their photography work and the role of licenses (a usage agreement) in managing the rights that their work automatically holds.
I’ll cover copyright in another post but for the purposes of this post lets assume you live in the UK, USA or one of the many countries where the creator of the image is automatically the holder of the copyright in that image.
So, you’ve created your masterpiece and you are the holder of the copyright in your image. What now? What’s the point of owning the copyright and more to the point – why do many people who want your photo also want your copyright?!!
Answer: because holding copyright (the right to copy) is valuable to the owner
You might see copyright also referred to as intellectual property (IP). The Government run UK Intellectual Property Office define IP as:
Intellectual property (IP) can allow you to own things you create in a similar way to owning physical property. You can control the use of your IP, and use it to gain reward. This encourages further innovation and creativity.
So where does licensing fit in?
Lets recap at this point. As the creator of the image you are both
- the copyright owner and
- the owner of the intellectual property rights of the image
If someone else (your client or a third party or a buyer of one of your images on sale as a stock image) wants to use your image then you are able to let them use your IP by granting them permission. In photography this permission takes the form of a license to use. It’s like any other paper license that sets out terms and conditions for the use of something.
The license to use needs to set out the precise rights you are granting. When we license images we need to set out:
- media type (what media will your image be used in – print, web, press ads, point of sale, billboards)
- territory (where will your image be seen – Region/State only, Country only, Continent, Worldwide)
- duration of license (how long will your image be used for – 3 months, 1 year, 2 years)
This usage agreement will be set depending on the needs of your client or the buyer of your rights-managed stock image (this “menu driven licensing” approach does not apply to Royalty Free images which I will cover in another tutorial)
Unsurprisingly, the more usage (get used to that word, its key in understanding pricing in the commercial world of photography) that is required of your image, the more you should charge when pricing the license to use.
Important! Commissioned work should never be sold “Royalty Free” (i.e. you charge only for the creation but not the end usage) because it is a bespoke image created specifically for your client. It cannot be bought “off the shelf”.
Let’s take a look at a typical license to use, courtesy of the license available from the UK Association of Photographers
Here’s the license as a pdf download: Sample image licence
So as you can see, its a very simple document that explicity states what uses you are granting (and selling) to your client or the end buyer of your image. If you aren’t using licences in your commercial photography business you should be! You can use a licence even if you are just starting out – you don’t need to be a top end professional photographer, we all have the same rights in our images (country dependent) as each other.
Pricing your licence will be the subject of another post very soon!
PP
[...] If you’ve no idea what a photography licence is then read this post. [...]
Many thanks for all the very useful info.
I have a question regarding media use types. I know that you didn’t create that form, however I’m designing my own form based on that one and I would like to add a tick box for online use, so that I don’t need to fill out the Other box all the time.
My question is, should I just put “Online”, or would it be worth breaking this down more by saying something like “Related (or company) web site”, “Unrelated web site(s)”? Or does it all get too complicated to manage and should be left as “Online” and they can use the image anywhere on the Internet?
Your thoughts appreciated.
Hi Nic,
Thanks. Good idea to modify the form to suit your client base or modes of operation.
I’ve found over the years it pays to be specific with wording on licences and contracts. I’d use “Related company websites” rather than “Online” or “Unrelated web sites” as the latter leaves the door open for unpaid 3rd party uses. I’ve had instances where on an interiors shoot for a designer my images appeared on a sofa manufacturer’s website. Nobody asked me, the sofa company asked the designer who emailed the file thinking that was OK.
So be specific and restrict online use to the company being granted the licence. If they want wider use then they can always ask and you can estimate that as an additional payable online fee.
PP
Hi PP,
I feel that there needs to be a few options for online use as clients will want to use the images in different ways. For example:
Online
Use anywhere online.
Client Web Site
Restricted to use on the related client web site.
Client Web Site and Web Promotion
Also enables the client to use the image for online promotion so that other web sites can use the image.
There might be more uses that could be specified, however I don’t want it to get too complicated.
I prefer your last two options as “Online
Use anywhere online” is, for me, an invitation for unlimited use by anyone online. The last two should really cover all uses by a) the licencee or b) sites acting to promote the licencee’s business in connection with the business of the licencee.
I try and think of online use as purely the electronic brother of the licence I’m creating for print so if it’s a simple PR licence then online use for PR related promotion is the electronic equivalent.
PP
Thanks for an informative article. Just wondered who the “the agency” and “the advertiser” are in relation to say a single image licence to someone who wishes to purchase.
Would I also use the licensing form as well as the T&C form for selling images?
Thanks.
Hi Jon
Glad you enjoyed the post. The standard licence above was made for commissioned work though it could also be used to grant usage for an existing image.
Most commissioned advertising work is undertaken by an Ad Agency on behalf of a client so you would fill in the Agency (“The Agency”) and the Client (“The Advertiser”). This makes the licence apply to the Agency that is buying the rights to the image ‘on behalf of’ the client so there is no confusion. If you are dealing direct with a client just delete Agency/Advertiser and use “The Client”.
Re ‘selling’ images. First off, get out of the habit of saying you ‘sell’ images. You don’t sell an image unless you transfer its copyright and you should only do that for lots and lots of money :)
What you are doing is licencing the USE of your image for
a period of time (i.e. one time use)
in a specified media type (i.e. magazine)
in a specified territory (i.e. UK)
*NB* Always send a licence even with Royalty Free (RF) images which are still subject to a licence which is not usually limited in time or media but there will be limitations on 3rd party use, resale etc etc.
No rights other than those bought under the licence are transferred.
You would use a licence form to accompany the image so your client knows what uses they have bought and what they can do with the image.
You should always have t&c’s (like any business) as these are your terms of general business (i.e. payment terms, attribution, no transfer of copyright assumed) etc. So always be sure to use both. Normally in commissioned work the t&c’s are sent with the estimate and once agreed you would start shooting the job. For stock use I send the t&c’s and the licence together.
They both form the contract under which the client purchases reproduction rights from you.
PP
Thanks for the write-up, but mightn’t it be a good idea to spell the word “licence” (sic) correctly in the sample PDF?
Oops, I see that your dateline is probably GMT? I also belatedly checked to find that “licence” and “license” are accepted alternative spellings. Most common use here in USA is with the “s”.
Sorry — that’s what I get for nit-picking without checking first!
Lol Craig,
Yes in the UK we use “Licence” but I am aware that in the USA the spelling with an “s” is very common so I mix the two (being an all encompassing photographer and not at all ‘regionalist’…) :)
PP