How to License Your Photographs
You want to sell photographs online or just upload them to image sharing sites but are afraid that people are going to use them however they please? There is a way around that and has been for a while. You can license your photograph just like many people have done.
There are a plethora of licenses that you can use for your photo and you should know what they are for as not every license is for every photo.
Creative Commons License
This license is very popular today and is not really a singular license. It offers various selections that you can add or remove from your license thus making every photo have a different degree of protection. Some are labeled for reuse with modification and commercial use while others can be reused without commercial use.
Creative Commons is a very popular license and for many reasons. Flickr users love them and so to Wikipedia and YouTube users.
Commercial Rights License
This one means that your photos are to be used for commercial purposes like magazines, online advertisements, anything that has photos in it for commercial purposes. Just like the commercial rights license exists, so does its opposite.
Non-Commercial Rights License
This license means that you can reuse the photo yet you cannot be using it for financial gain. Personal sites and blogs are okay and forums and any sort of media where there is no gain to be had. Make sure to check on your license before you decide to sell them.
First Rights License
This license means that whoever you sell will be first to use your image. The great thing about it is that you retain the rights to your photo and you can resell it later if you so choose, unlike with Serial Rights.
Serial Rights License
This one is favored by magazines. You sell your photo to the magazine and they gain exclusive permission to use that photo as they see fit. You lose rights to the photo if you sell it under this license. This is great if you have a deal with a magazine and are selling them photos on a regular basis.
Licensing is great for photographers albeit not essential. The process is easy and simple. If you were an online casino, for example, you would have to fill out certain forms and agree to certain conditions in order to be regulated under a country’s specific license. This process is mandatory for online casinos as they need a license to be able to operate legally.
A photographer, on the other hand, can choose from a list of many licenses and only if they deem it necessary. It is not an obligatory thing, but a recommended one.
