Stop! Can An Image Of That Subject Be Licensed?

Posted on 10/8/2014 by Jim Pickerell | Printable Version | Comments (3)

Did you know that it is illegal to license for commercial use pictures of hundreds of the most popular, beautiful and interesting venues around the world? In many cases it is also illegal to use such pictures for editorial purposes.

In addition to Places and Landmarks there is a long list of Common Objects, Brands and Trademarks that have intellectual property infringement issues.  Shutterstock has put together a list of over 300 such subjects. For the most part they will not accept images of these subjects into their collection. They also note that the list is not all-inclusive and there may be other images they won’t accept for the same reason. Many of these locations and subjects are things photographers love to photograph.

Photographers may be surprised that photos of the Iwo Jima Marine Memorial in Washington, DC cannot be used for commercial purposes although they may be considered for editorial use. Also, the concept of Multiple Screens on a Black Background or a Wall of Screens is copyrighted and unacceptable for commercial use if there is a reflection on the floor; a curve in monitor placement or a man watching the monitors.



Where appropriate Shutterstock provides clues as to what might be acceptable. For example photos of soccer, rugby or volley balls “must be blank or feature the black & white generic pattern design.”

This information can be very useful for all photographers planning shoots, not just those who are submitting images to Shutterstock. Most other agencies have similar acceptance rules. Even if they don’t, most professional image buyers are well aware of the kind of images that might create problems. Even when such images are available designers will tend to avoid using them.



If licensing is the photographer’s goal, there is no point taking pictures that will be rejected when submitted for marketing. And there is certainly little point in taking the time to correct and keyword such images.  

Shutterstock Blog


The Shutterstock Blog is filled with other useful information for all image creators, not just Shutterstock contributors.



This month they have an infographic on the “Top Color Trends of 2014” that are expected to dominate design in the coming months.

They also have interesting features that allow designers to search for images with a particular Color Palette or Color Spectrum in addition to keywords. Given the size of Shutterstock’s collection this could help designers focus in on the images that are most appropriate to their immediate needs.

As best I can determine these options are not currently available through the “Refine Your Search” option on Shutterstock’s main search page. However, it seems likely they will be in the not too distant future.

Image creators should be aware of how these options work and consider how they might appeal to buyers.


Copyright © 2014 Jim Pickerell. The above article may not be copied, reproduced, excerpted or distributed in any manner without written permission from the author. All requests should be submitted to Selling Stock at 10319 Westlake Drive, Suite 162, Bethesda, MD 20817, phone 301-461-7627, e-mail: jim@scphotos.com

Jim Pickerell is founder of www.selling-stock.com, an online newsletter that publishes daily. He is also available for personal telephone consultations on pricing and other matters related to stock photography. He occasionally acts as an expert witness on matters related to stock photography. For his current curriculum vitae go to: http://www.jimpickerell.com/Curriculum-Vitae.aspx.  

Comments

  • Charles Cecil Posted Oct 8, 2014
    Jim: Postcards of the Iwo Jima Memorial and the Korean War Memorial are widely available around the D.C. area, certainly a commercial use. What should we conclude?--that they are illegal, or that the printer/distributor or the photographer somehow got permission? Does "commercial use" include selling fine art prints at craft fairs? Chuck Cecil

  • Charles Cecil Posted Oct 8, 2014
    Jim: I forgot to say many thanks for that really comprehensive list from Shutterstock.

  • Jim Pickerell Posted Oct 13, 2014
    Charles: I suspect that the publisher of the postcards got permission from the copyright holder of the monument to use the image. In some cases the copyright holder may have not bothered to pursue the infringer.

    When it comes to fine art prints as craft fairs I suspect no one will ever come after you for personal use, but technically it is illegal in the same sense that if someone decided to sell a lot of one of your images at a craft fair you might want to go after them.

    The bigger issue is that because there are known problems with the subject matter on this list many distributors simply won't put such images into their collections.

Post Comment

Please log in or create an account to post comments.

Stay Connected

Sign up to receive email notification when new stories are posted.

Follow Us

Free Stuff

Stock Photo Pricing: The Future
In the last two years I have written a lot about stock photo pricing and its downward slide. If you have time over the holidays you may want to review some of these stories as you plan your strategy ...
Read More
Future Of Stock Photography
If you’re a photographer that counts on the licensing of stock images to provide a portion of your annual income the following are a few stories you should read. In the past decade stock photography ...
Read More
Blockchain Stories
The opening session at this year’s CEPIC Congress in Berlin on May 30, 2018 is entitled “Can Blockchain be applied to the Photo Industry?” For those who would like to know more about the existing blo...
Read More
2017 Stories Worth Reviewing
The following are links to some 2017 and early 2018 stories that might be worth reviewing as we move into the new year.
Read More
Stories Related To Stock Photo Pricing
The following are links to stories that deal with stock photo pricing trends. Probably the biggest problem the industry has faced in recent years has been the steady decline in prices for the use of ...
Read More
Stock Photo Prices: The Future
This story is FREE. Feel free to pass it along to anyone interested in licensing their work as stock photography. On October 23rd at the DMLA 2017 Conference in New York there will be a panel discuss...
Read More
Important Stock Photo Industry Issues
Here are links to recent stories that deal with three major issues for the stock photo industry – Revenue Growth Potential, Setting Bottom Line On Pricing and Future Production Sources.
Read More
Recent Stories – Summer 2016
If you’ve been shooting all summer and haven’t had time to keep up with your reading here are links to a few stories you might want to check out as we move into the fall. To begin, be sure to complet...
Read More
Corbis Acquisition by VCG/Getty Images
This story provides links to several stories that relate to the Visual China Group (VCG) acquisition of Corbis and the role Getty Images has been assigned in the transfer of Corbis assets to the Gett...
Read More
Finding The Right Image
Many think search will be solved with better Metadata. While metadata is important, there are limits to how far it can take the customer toward finding the right piece of content. This story provides...
Read More

More from Free Stuff