In general people are much more familiar with the concept of licensing when thinking about music and movies. We all know that when we buy an album or movie that we can listen or watch to our hearts content. We can play the music in our cars and on our phones and in our houses but what we can't do is make copies and sell them or play the music at public events. You can watch a movie at home with friends but you can't put it on the TV in the pub.
All of these activities are protected by licensing. If you want to show a movie in the pub you have to get permission of the copyright holder and probably pay a fee for the special licence.
The same applies to my photography. I own the copyright of all the images I create. My licences set out the scope for how my clients can use those images. My licences are generous to my clients while protecting both our reputations.
Base Usage Licence (BUL)
My Base Usage Licence for Basic Edit includes:
Use on the client website and the clients direct social media accounts. Unlimited time.
For estate agents the licence also includes printing images on the property handouts and window display sheets.
For other businesses the images can also be used for internal reports and documentation.
By it's very definition the B.U.L. is basic. The licence can be extended to cover pretty much any media usage and length of time. I use the industry standard licence calculator provided by the A.O.P.
For Select Edit images included in a package or ordered later the licence is extended to include printing on flyers, posters, business cards etc
If you have a requirement to use images for other purposes just get in touch and ask me for a quote.
Restrictions
My Base Usage License doesn't allow clients to sell or share the image on to another party like a stock library or advertising agency or other third party. For example, photography commissioned by an interior designer can't be given, sold or shared with the company that fitted the kitchen or the supplier of the glass doors or the builder of the extension. I'm happy to licence for extended use if several companies want to share costs of the photography but this must be agreed and paid for. My image copyright tracking system could cause the awkward situation where I pursue a third party for unapproved use when they turn out to be related to a client. It's always best to ask first.
My Base Usage License doesn't allow for any printed media except for the special cases listed in the Includes section above. So no flyers, postcards, brochures & catalogues, packaging, T-Shirts etc.
None of my licenses allow for local, nationwide or global advertising campaigns. If you have a budget big enough to pay for that level of exposure then you'll need a custom license to use the images for that purpose.
A client may have employed a third party such as a design agency to handle their website and media or the client may be and agency who is sourcing images on behalf of a client. My standard licence covers this working relationship. Just let me know beforehand so it can be included on the estimate and invoice.