JUST TO GIVE YALL A HEADS UP, SO YALL AINT JUST LOST WHEN IT COMES TO MY RIGHTS WITH THIS CAMERA. IF YOURE IN PUBLIC AND I TAKE A PIC OF YOU, ITS STILL MY PICTURE!!! IF YOU WANT THE PICTURE YOU MUST GO THE LEGAL ROUTE TO OBTAIN IT. IF WE DID A PHOTOSHOOT TOGETHER, THEYRE STILL MY PICTURES!!!! SAME RULES APPLY.... IF I AM HIRED FOR A WEDDING, BDAY PARTY ETC. SAME RULES APPLY!!!! I HAVE TO ISSUE YOU SPECIFIC SHOTS, AND THOSE SHOTS CAN ONLY BE USED IN THE SPECIFIED MANNER IN WHICH WE AGREED. (Read first instead of tellin me what you gone do, cuz i know mfs cant pay traffic tickets let alone fight a lawsuit) Clients can obtain licensed photography in two ways. First, they can hire a photographer to create new work (Assignment Photography) which will be licensed for the client’s specific purposes. The second– and less expensive– option is for the client to obtain a license for already-existing work (Stock Photography). While assignment photography is essentially a service business in which the photographer creates something new, stock photography is more of a commodity. As most photographers already know, stock photography is pretty much dominated by a relatively small number of agencies and has a set of business strategies al its own. You can license your own stock directly to your clients, but the overwhelming majority of photographers licensing commercial or editorial photos are doing so with original work. LICENSOR– The photographer or 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– The creative fee is charged by the photographer for his or her efforts to bring a project to a successful completion. In addition to time spent, the creative fee may be calculated including factors like the photographer’s experience, special expertise, reputation, or anything that contributes to the overall creative effort. EXCLUSIVE LICENSE– When granted, 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. It’s also important to note that exclusive licenses can be very broad or very specific. The license might grant the licensee exclusive rights to use a photo singly, or in any combination of a specified media, industry, territory, language, time period, product, and/or any other specific right negotiated between the licensor and licensee. NON-EXCLUSIVE LICENSE– The licensor can grant the same or similar rights to multiple licensees. Unless otherwise negotiated, licenses are non-exclusive. UNLIMITED USE– This is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It’s a very broad grant of rights that permits the client to use the photo(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 fee can– and will– be based on factors such as circulation, size of reproduction, and specific image qualities. BUY OUT– This is a very imprecise term used to describe a grant of extremely broad usage rights. It has no actual legal definition. It is an incredibly vague term and I wholeheartedly discourage anyone from engaging in a buy out. WORK FOR HIRE– Also known as “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. What does that mean for you? It means that you may not hold the copyright to a photo that you took while working for someone else. And if you don’t own the copyright, you have no legal standing to license the work to a third party. If you are ever in doubt regarding terminology– either in explaining it or understanding it– be sure to check out the Picture Licensing Universal System (PLUS). Among other resources available on their website, the glossary can be an invaluable tool in making sure everyone is on the same page. One of the first things you are going to have to do for a prospective client is send them a description of the license. This is where negotiations typically begin. It’s no surprise that the client may be looking for more of a rights grant than you are initially willing to give, but at this early stage they may not yet have a firm grasp of how they plan on using the work. There are three things you have to get across in your initial license description. First, you need to be clear that the license will be a grant of agreed-upon usage and scope. Only specified use will be permitted. Second, the description must seek to ensure that the client understands what they can and cannot do with the photos. Third, it will protect your photos from unlicensed usage. A good license description will contain all of the following specifics. PARTIES– Remember that a license is a contract between you and your client. The contract will be invalid if it does not properly identify the parties. If you are incorporated or doing business under a name other than your own, make sure to use your business name. PERMISSIONS– The license grants permission to the client for specified use. Those permissions need to be listed. They are generally broken down by: Category/Type (e.g., Consumer Magazine Cover). Distribution Format (Printed, electronic download, etc.). Placement specifies the locations or positions where the work can appear in specified media and how many times. For example, Single Placement Front Cover. Other specific permissions can (and often will) include negotiated terms such as size, quantity, duration, region, language, and exclusivity. CONSTRAINTS– Anything that can appear as a permission can also be used as a constraint. I can, for example, grant permission for my photo to be used on the cover of a magazine and a second time accompanying the article inside the magazine. The publication can theoretically be constrained from reproducing the inside image any smaller than an agreed-upon size. Typically, the biggest constraint will be the duration. Your client will be granted permission to use the image from one specific date to another. Once the license expires, the client must pay an additional licensing fee in order to continue using the photo. REQUIREMENTS– This can be a generic catch-all, covering items which do not fall into either permissions or constraints. Continuing with our magazine cover analogy, you may try requiring the publication to insert a photo credit line on the cover or somewhere in the magazine. By the way– it’s perfectly normal and reasonable to request something like this and put it in the license. Remember, though, that sh*t happens and some editor who doesn’t know any better might leave it out. Choose your battles wisely if this happens. The ability to negotiate favorable editorial licenses depends greatly on relationships. Think very carefully before you decide to damage one. TERMS & CONDITIONS– Typically, this will include when payment is due and how it is to be made, as well as any other transactional details. IMAGE INFORMATION– I cannot stress enough just how important this is. Let’s say that you deliver ten images. Your client knows they have negotiated a license– they even have a signed copy in their file. Now let’s assume that the license only allows for the use of two images. You delivered ten images so the client could select the two they want to use, but what happens if they assume that they can use all ten, just as long as they only use two at a time? It seems ridiculous, but you have to assume that something ridiculous is going to happen at some point. You therefore have to make sure that you not only specify the quantity of images, but also which particular images. Your best bet here is to identify the photos by file name.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:37:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015