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Image licencing Guide
There are a variety of important legal issues that need to reviewed prior to licensing or using images. This checklist and guide highlights common issues that may arise when you license and use digital images. The issues presented in this document are not exhaustive and do not include standard contract and licensing issues.
IMPORTANT! The information in this checklist and guide is intended to highlight general issues and is not offered as legal advice or a solution to individual problems. You should not attempt to solve specific problems by relying on the information contained in this guide and you are always advised to seek competent legal counsel before relying on this or any information. It is your responsibility to ensure that you comply with all laws regarding your use of an image.
Prior to licensing or using images, the following issues should be carefully reviewed. These issues listed here are not exhaustive and do not include standard contract and licensing issues. You are urged to discuss licensing and usage issues with your Mooch Images Limited account executive prior to licensing or using images.
ISSUE 1: Pictures that Contain People, Places, and Things
Images often depict a variety of subject matter: people, buildings, art, animals, etc. When you license an image from Mooch Images Limited, you acquire from Mooch Images Limited only the limited right to reproduce that image. However, to use the image you still may need: 1) the permission of the people depicted in an image and/or 2) the permission of the owners of places and things who may have rights in such material. You need to obtain additional permissions depends upon the nature and circumstance of your intended use, the material that you may add to an image, the way that you might manipulate and image, and the laws that may apply to your use. Generally, Mooch Images Limited does not license these additional rights to you when you acquire a license to use a Mooch Images Limited image. It is your responsibility to license these rights from the proper right owners, or obtain legal guidance on whether your intended use requires that you obtain these rights. This guide illustrates some of the rights and issues.
ISSUE 2: Copyright
Among the most important questions to ask regarding the licensing and use of any image is:Does the image depict works protected by copyright? If an image contains fine art (including paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.) additional licenses may be required from the artist or his/her estate or agency. You will need to determine whether the art depicted is protected under copyright laws, and whether your use requires that you obtain permission of the artist. Agencies such as the Visual Artist (VAGA) represent many artists and may assist you in acquiring such rights. In addition to the copyright, artist may also have a right of integrity over how images of their art are reproduced, modified, and whether proper attribution is required to be given to the artist. This right of integrity or “moral right” gives the artist certain control over the integrity of his/her work and the right to receive (or not receive) attribution or credit as the artist responsible for the work.
ISSUE 3: Trademarks
Another important question to ask regarding the licensing and use of any image is: Does the image depict trademarks, trade dress, or trade names? A picture containing a trademark, trade dress, or trade name may require you to obtain the permission of the trademark owner if your use could confuse the public as to the source, origin, or approval. For example, if you use in your advertisement a picture of an airplane that contains that airline’s logo and colours on the tail, you may need the permission of the airline. Not every use of a photograph depicting trademarks (such as signage or logos) will infringe the rights of the trademark owner, but the risk increases when such you use images for advertising or promotion.
ISSUE 4: Rights of Publicity
Yet another question to ask regarding the licensing and use of any image is: : Does the image depict a person? In many states and countries, people have a “right of publicity” that allows them to control how their name, likeness, voice, and signatures are used. The laws can vary widely, with many laws requiring you to obtain permission of the person before using their picture in certain ways, whether these people are famous or not, or whether they are still living or not. You must make sure that your intended use complies with the law of every territory where you intend to use the image. Use of a person’s name, image, or likeness in advertising and promotion nearly always requires their permission. You must contact the person or the people or group representing the personality to clear rights of the personalities. For living personalities, this contact can be a manager, agent, publicist, company, or the person themselves. For famous and deceased personalities, the contact can be an agency (like Curtis Management Group or Global Icons), their estate, lawyer, family foundation, Bank Trust Division, etc. Often, people who appear in images produced for use in commercial advertising sign a “model release” that allows you to use the image in certain ways without obtaining their further permission. Mooch Images Limited licenses images that are “model released” and can assist you in locating images that are suitable for your use.
ISSUE 5: Rights of Privacy
Also ask this question prior to licensing or using an image: Does the image depict a person?The right of privacy protects against unreasonable intrusions into a person’s private affairs. In certain countries, the right of privacy prohibits the use of certain images (for example a picture depicting a crime victim or an accused party). In many states and countries, the person depicted in the photograph must still be living to claim the right. Images licensed for commercial use or for sensitive subject editorial and commercial use may also require model, property, or estate releases (that is, permission from photographed subjects or owners of the objects to reprint their image). When obtaining a model release, you should consider where and how the image will be used, as well as what other material will be used with or added to the image such as captions or text.
ISSUE 6: Property Rights
Another question to ask regarding the licensing and usage of any image is: Does the image depict property belonging to others? Better viewed as an “access right,” this right may protect the owner of the property depicted in an image from unauthorized use of the material. A good example is a museum that owns several rare artifacts and restricts access and photography of the artifacts, and may have a right to restrict access and use of their property, or the owner of an animal that may limit access to the animal in return for a fee. Property rights are often claimed by property owners but may not be legally enforceable.
ISSUE 7: Prior Approvals Required by Licensor
Images that require pre-approval for usage may restrict the licensee from certain uses of the photograph. For example, a photographer or a model may require that the image not be used in certain industries (tobacco or alcohol), or he may request prior approval before an image is licensed or manipulated. Additionally, images may be restricted from use in certain territories or for certain periods of time due to prior licenses. You should read the restrictions associated with an image to determine if any prior approvals are needed.
ISSUE 8: Sensitive Subjects
If you intend to use the image for sensitive subject usage, you must contact a Mooch Images Limited account executive (AE) and notify the AE about all the details of the usage, request sensitive subject permission, and finalize the license terms. DO NOT SIMPLY RELY ON A STANDARD MODEL RELEASE. Using an image of a person for a sensitive subject nearly always requires additional clearances or permissions. Two important things to note with respect to sensitive subject usage: 1) sensitive subject usage pertains to both editorial and commercial usages and 2) an image may be model released, but still not available for a sensitive subject usage.
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