Rights clearance and licensing

Clarity and transparency in the jungle of paragraphs.

The world of image licenses is complex – and it becomes more so with every year. Personality rights, property rights, trademark rights, missing model releases, unclear property releases: all these are stumbling blocks that can become expensive in the worst case. At the same time, a wide variety of licensing models is available to you – from single-seat licenses through multi-seat licenses to enterprise-wide or group-wide agreements. Keeping track of it is a challenge even for experienced buyers.

Safely through the licensing jungle

We clarify for you which licensing model fits your concrete use case – whether it needs to be a Rights-Managed license, whether a Royalty-Free license is sufficient or whether an extended license is necessary. We know the subtleties of the various providers exactly: what Getty Images calls an Enterprise license is called “Extended License” at iStock, “Premium License” at Adobe Stock and something else again at Shutterstock. We translate this jargon chaos into clear recommendations for you.

Legal protection

Before an image is published, the legal basis has to be right. We check for you whether all necessary releases are in place – from model releases through property releases to trademark-related questions. Whether it's an ad, packaging, a social media post or a trade show – every use has different requirements, and we make sure that you're on the safe side. Because retroactive rights clearance is not only time-consuming but can also lead to substantial costs.

Film · Sound · Type

Videos, sounds, fonts and typefaces

We also know our way around licensing videos, music pieces, sound effects as well as typefaces and fonts. The licensing models differ considerably depending on the medium and the provider. With videos, usage duration, distribution area and platform play a role. With music and sounds, it matters whether they are used as background music, in ad clips or in editorial content.

With typefaces and fonts it often gets particularly tricky: desktop license, webfont license, app embed, eBook and server license are usually sold separately – a desktop license does not cover a website. Many foundries such as Monotype, Linotype or H&Co also bill webfonts by monthly pageviews; if the quota is exceeded, retroactive invoices can follow.

On top of that come special rules for embedding in PDFs, using fonts in logos (often with a separate outlining right) or embedding in apps and games. And even supposedly “free” fonts are often subject to licensing for commercial projects. We clarify for you which font license fits your actual use case.

Images in enterprise databases

Many companies store licensed images in internal databases, CMS or digital asset management platforms. Not every standard license allows filing in a corporate database – extended licenses or multi-seat licenses are often required. We advise you on which license fits your actual scope of use, what should be stored in the metadata and who within your company is allowed to access the material.

One call settles a lot

Many questions can already be resolved in a quick phone call. Just give us a call – with our experience we can often help you right away. And when it gets more complicated, we use our close relationships with the stock agencies to resolve unusual cases directly with the relevant partners. Of course we also support you with image research and budget optimization.

Our consultation is free for you. We won't leave you alone in the jungle of paragraphs – we provide clarity and transparency.

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Strandperle