We accept:
Stock Photography Use Limitations
What you can not do with images
Same image, different messages
When using images from a stock photo agency, be sure to familiarize yourself with the licensing agreement because there are limitations to what you can do with the images you decide to use.
First, be clear that in most cases you are purchasing the right to USE the image, not the image itself. And if the images that you purchase use are royalty-free, that means you don't have exclusive use of the image and others can use that same image on their promotional material and in any of their advertising.
Following is some of thecommon language used in the licensing agreement. This was taken from a generic agency, just known here as Stock Agency
All Images on the Stock Agency website are protected by United States and international copyright laws and treaties. Stock Agency and/or the various artists who provide content and/or Images to Stock Agency ("Submitters") own all rights, including the copyrights in and to the Images.
The Stock agency holds all rights to the images
What you CAN do with the images with limitations:
You can use them:
• On web sites
• Incorporated into software as a background image or splash screen, provided that the Image cannot be unincorporated from the software or viewed as a slideshow or the equivalent;
• In multimedia presentations and incorporated into film and video for broadcast use, and theatrical display only where the intended audience will consist of fewer than 250,000 viewers
• In CD or DVD cover art, magazines, newspapers, books, eBooks, book covers, textbooks, editorials provided that the manufacturing or print run of such CDs or DVDs, magazines, newspapers, etc. does not exceed two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) copies in the aggregate;
• As toolbar skins and mobile phone "wallpaper" for personal use.
• On letterhead, business cards, advertising or promotional posters, pamphlets, brochures, catalogs, provided that the Image is not used as and does not function as a trademark, service mark or logo or as any element thereof
• As decoration in an office, restaurant, public area, home, or store owned or rented by you or by a client for whom you render design services.
What you CAN NOT do with the images:
• Use or display any Image on websites or in connection with any service designed to sell or induce sales of "print on demand" products, including postcards, mugs, t-shirts, posters, artwork and other items, this includes custom designed websites as well as sites such as Cafe Press
The image itself is used to sell the product, which means in essence you are 'reselling' the image, which is a no-no
• Resell, redistribute or transfer any Image except as specifically provided herein.
• Share an Image by providing access to such Image on shared disk drives, computer networks, intranets of any nature or otherwise.
• Use Stock Agency Images in a manner that competes with Stock Agency's business.
• You may not create a greeting card line based on Stock Agency Images - or use our Images as the basis for a collection of objects for sale
•. Use any Image (in whole or in part) as a trademark, logo or an element thereof.
• Produce or otherwise create for resale or distribution, printed reproductions of any Image on canvas, paper or any other medium unless expressly permitted by this agreement.
•Use an Image together with pornographic, defamatory, or otherwise unlawful or immoral content or in such a manner that it infringes upon any third party's trademark or intellectual property.
•Use an Image in a way that places any person in the photo in a bad light or depicts them in a way that they may find offensive - this includes, but is not limited to: a) the use of Images in pornography; b) tobacco ads; c) ads for escort, dating or similar services; d) political endorsements; e) advertisements for pharmaceutical products, including, but not limited to personal hygiene or birth control products; and f) uses that are defamatory, or contain otherwise unlawful, offensive or immoral content.
Same Image, Different Messages
Is the stock company making these stipulations because they are concerned about morals? They could be. But most likely the bigger reason is that since the images are available for anyone to purchase, they don't want to anger or offend someone with the image being used in a possibly controversial manner
For an illustration, here's a fictional ad using stock photography images.
Say a cruise line that caters to couples puts out this ad, and it's going to be used in newspaper ads, yellow pages, mailers, etc. They are subtly promising that if you come away with them, you're sure to experience that eternal love, romance, and happiness, and if you've somehow lost it along the way, you'll find it again with them.
Now here's another ad put out by a different fictitious company, with a different goal, yet using the same images.
Hmmm, do you perhaps get a different picture here?
These are just the more common stipulations in a licensing agreement. Make sure you read all of the fine print involved (yes, it can be extensive) to be clear on what type of use you are allowed in your purchase, thereby avoiding any hassles later. For example, you don't want to naively use a stock image to design your company's logo without purchasing the required rights to do so (if those rights are even available) and then have to put in the time and expense to have your logo redone.
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