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

Sorry — that’s what I get for nit-picking without checking first!

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

Would I also use the licensing form as well as the T&C form for selling images?

Thanks.

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

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.

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

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.