January 21st, 2021.
Must-Know Terms:
PhotograpHy Licensing Edition
Photo by Giammarco Boscaro
In our last blog post, we briefly introduced the different types of photography (commercial, editorial and retail) and how they contribute to the ways in which your images are used and distributed. Today’s content will provide you with a list of the most essential terminologies when dealing with photography licenses.
Let’s break it down:
LICENSE
A contract in which the photographer grants specific rights to the client in order to use the image.
LICENSOR
The photographer or the copyright holder who is granting usage rights to another person or entity.
LICENSEE
The person or entity to whom the license is granted.
CREATIVE FEE
In addition to time spent, the creative fee includes factors such as the photographer’s experience, expertise, reputation, and everything else that contributes to the overall creative effort.
EXCLUSIVE LICENSE
An exclusive license limits not only the client in their use of the licensed image(s), but also the photographer in their ability to license the work to multiple users.
NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENSE
The licensor can grant the same or similar rights to multiple licensees. Unless otherwise negotiated, licenses are non-exclusive.
Photo by Clarisse Meyer
UNLIMITED USE
It’s a very broad grant of rights that permits the client to use the image(s) across all media types and parameters (e.g., territory, duration, etc.).
LICENSING FEE
This is the price charged by the licensor to the licensee in exchange for a grant of rights permitting the use of one or more images in a manner prescribed in the license. The licensing fee includes factors such as circulation, size of reproduction, and specific image qualities.
BUY OUT
This has no actual legal definition. If your client is insisting on a buyout, it is imperative that you make sure they are clear on the concept.
WORK FOR HIRE
Used interchangeably with “work made for hire,” this term is defined in the U.S. Copyright Act as a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment, or a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work.
Simply put, the photographer may not hold the copyright to a photo that they took while working for someone else which is the opposite from the automatic ownership Bill C-11 guarantees for every Canadian photographer and creators included.