Image licences and model releases can be confusing. What can you use stock images for? What can’t you use them for? We sort the wheat from the chaff so you don’t have to.
At a glance, model releases are a document that professional photographers must supply alongside images featuring a model. Delving a bit deeper, photographers have to provide evidence of a models’ consent to appear in their work.
Why is this necessary? To protect both photographers and image suppliers from any legal complications surrounding content that they provide to clients. Photographers want image suppliers to know that they are fully within their rights to distribute and resell their work within the confines of the law. Image suppliers then know that they are allowed to distribute this content onto their clients without putting themselves (or their clients) at any risk of legal backlash.
Image licences are a bit different. Different stock photography providers operate under different licences, so it can vary depending on which one you use. Fortunately, there a few popular options used by the main stock image providers: Royalty-Free, Rights Managed and Creative Commons.
But how do you know which is which? If you downloaded the image from a supplier (such as Ingimage) there will be a section of the website dedicated to outlining the image license, so you know which licence you are working with and what you can do with their content.
Right, let’s break down the 3 main stock image licenses you need to know about:
1- The Creative Commons License
This is the most common type of license you’ll come across. While there are a variety of licences available under Creative Commons, it basically allows the user to share or edit the work in question. However, the way you can use the image depends on the type of licence applied. For example, the Non-Derivative Creative Commons license states that ‘You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work’ meaning that you can use the original image, but not edit it and you must always give credit back to the original creator. So always double check exactly which Creative Commons Licence applies to the image you want to use.
Royalty-free, or RF, refers to the right to use images or digital content without the need to pay royalties or license fees for each use. This is the license most commonly used by stock photography sites. Basically, if you provide a one time payment in the form of a subscription or purchase, you can use the content without having to worry about making any further payments each time you use the image. Thus making it ‘royalty-free’. Many could consider this to be the most flexible option.
3 – Rights Managed Licence
Rights Managed, or RM, allows a user one-time use of the image in question as specified by the license, and could be considered the most restrictive license. If the user wants to use the photo for other additional uses other than those specified in the licence, such as using the image in print format, a separate license needs to be purchased. Other restrictions for this licence type can often take the form of a time limit, the size of print run that is planned, or regional restrictions on where you can distribute the image.
Most stock image suppliers would use either Royalty-Free or Rights Managed licences for their clients, so when you understand how these licence models work you’ll have a good understanding of what to expect as an industry standard. To see a working example of the Royalty-Free License, you can read more here.
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