Photography Licensing Key Terms

Familiarize yourself with these need-to-know photography licensing key terms

A photography license is a vital legal document used to protect photographs in the commercial, editorial and retail industries. As pieces of intellectual property, photographs are legally protected if a photography license is maintained.

From copyrighted stock photos to personal photographs, licensing fees vary based on copyright and exclusivity rights. As you prepare to license your photos, familiarize yourself with these key terms.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property consists of material and non-material creations that originate from ideas. From photography and music to inventions and methodologies, intellectual property is protected under the law in the form of patents, trademarks and copyrights.

Copyright

A copyright is a legal way a person can protect intellectual property such as a photograph. A copyright on a photograph or series of images allows the owner of the photographs the right to use the images as he deems fit. The owner can create terms of use for the photographs and set fees for use by others.
Copyright Office of the United States offers in-depth information on copyright laws and how to copyright intellectual property.

Stock photographs

Stock photographs are generic, general images that appeal to a wide range of industries. Stock photo fees depend on how the image is used and the time frame in which the image is used. Usually, a one-time fee is charged for stock photograph use, although many stock photographs are free of charge with proper citation.

Exclusivity

In photography licensing, exclusivity is a clause within an image license that gives one party sole rights to use an image so that competitors are excluded from its use.

Rights-managed photography

A rights-managed photograph, usually a stock photograph, is a piece of intellectual property in which the image usage fee is calculated based on the specific use of the photograph. A higher fee is charged for rights-managed photographs and is calculated based on the type of media in which the image is used, the length of time the photograph is needed and how widespread the image will be.

Royalty-free

A royalty-free clause is written into a licensing agreement to allow images to be used multiple times based on a one-time fee.

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