DEFINITIONS
The “creative fee” is charged by the photographer for their efforts to manage a project successfully. It may include factors like the photographer’s experience, expertise, reputation and time spent on the project.
The “licensing fee” 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 described in the agreement. The factors that go into determining the fee include circulation, size of reproduction, and specific image qualities.
An “exclusive license” limits the client’s use of the licensed images as well as the photographer’s ability to license the work to other users.
A “non-exclusive” license can grant the same or similar rights to multiple licensees. Unless otherwise negotiated, licenses are non-exclusive.
Most clients would prefer to get “unlimited use” of images, because it represents a very broad grant of rights that permitting use of the images across all media types for as long as the client wishes. It is not usual for clients to be granted unlimited use, however, unless they have paid a high premium for such use.
The purpose of the license is that both parties can agree the scope and usage of the images, therefore, the content of a clear and concise license will usually cover the following important terms:
This section will lay out the specified use for which the client is granted permission to use the images. It may state, for example, that the use is for a magazine cover whether printed or electronic; where the image can be placed and how many times, for example, once on the front page of specified media. Other specific permissions often will include negotiated terms such as size of image, quantity, duration, region, language, and exclusivity.
These basically operate as the opposite of permissions. The license may state, for example,that the photo may not be used as a thumbnail image. One of the most important constraints will be the duration. A client may be granted permission to use the image for a specified period only. Once that period is over the license expires, and the client would need to pay the photographer an additional licensing fee in order to continue using the photo.
Whether the photographer gets a photo credit by-line is a matter for negotiation. It is normal for a photographer to request that their name accompany any image used, but not all clients will agree if the by-line runs counter to their publication policies.
All photos should be capable of being identified by file name. This is particularly so if it is the intention for the client to select only one out of number of images to license. It should be made clear that the client is not allowed to keep and use unselected images.