“Rich, can you get me this image for a concept I’m working on?” asks the Designer.
“Rich, the client’s decided to go ahead with design C. Can you secure the rights on that waterfall imagery please,thanks,” asks the Account Manager.
“Who used rights managed photography? You know this client won’t want to spend that money!” bemoans the Studio Director (that’s me).
Stock houses: we’re all familiar with them, some to our joy, some to our confusion. We want to play by the rules but in reading the rules, we sometimes get more confused. Do I have to pay for this if it’s just a concept to show the client? Theye’re not selling anything with this imagery yet. What if we move on to research? Is it okay to show for opinions?
A quick Google search of Stock Image Houses will come up with the usual suspects: Getty Images, iStock Photo, Shutterstock, Veer, Masterfile, Jupiter Images…
First off, most stock houses deal in two licensing options, Royalty Free (RF) and Rights Managed (RM), though iStock deals exclusively in RF imagery. These typically apply to Photography or Illustration. Music and Footage (Film/Video/HD) are available as well, but I’ll stick with what I know.
The Stock Houses basically work the same, enter your search criteria (RF, RM, Photography, Illustration…) and descriptions (red, angry, temperature…). Hit enter and you’re greeted with hundreds or thousands of images to choose from.
The differences between the houses, image quality, quantity and web design aside, as far as I’ve experienced, are in the payment/subscription options and the fine print. This is where confusion reigns.
Though the houses all offer RF pieces of art, RF can mean different things. Yes, it’s Royalty Free and one payment should secure what you need, but I found while reading one site’s agreement that I wouldn’t be able to transfer ownership of the purchase to our client. If more than 250,000 printings were going to be run, then other fees might apply.
To make certain that I understood these limitations, I called the house directly and that is my biggest recommendation here. Contact your stock house or houses and develop a relationship with them. They can guide you ahead of the purchase so that nothing comes back to bite you. In this case, my understanding was confirmed. No, I couldn’t give my client permission. They would have to purchase the item themselves (so much for mark-ups) and they would run over 250,000 impressions so they couldn’t even help themselves if we directed them to purchase on their own behalf. This is not true across all houses so know your needs and double-check your own understanding and triple check by contacting the stock house. Do this a couple of times and you’ll soon be on a first-name basis with a representative.
RM images offer a sliding scale of sorts for pricing. You’ll need to know where this will be shown. North America? South America? Global? In what category? Household goods? Health Care? Travel? How many pressings? Thousands? Millions? For how long and when will it actually be out on the market to start?
To navigate the rules, I reached out to Getty Images and was directed to Andrew Delaney, Head of Content. He helped me with clearing rights before, so I thought it a good idea to get my facts straight before posting them here. It seems Getty was already up on these issues, and well they should be, as I was directed directly to www.stockphotorights.com <http://www.stockphotorights.com>
Here, you can see a video that explains why you may need or want a stock house and why you don’t want to risk improper use of an image.
Below is a Q&A with Andrew which may shed some light on the behind-the-scenes activity of Getty and help novices if it’s their first foray into the stock world.
Q. What's the best way to search for an image?
A.Type a word or phrase in the search box and go. Need more? Use advanced Search. Not sure? Click on Search Tips and follow the guidelines. All searches can be sliced and diced to get to the image or clip or track you are looking for. It’s refine-able; you can search by license model, by collection, by age, gender, concept or composition. And, if you still can't find what you want, call us. Our keyword and searching guide can also be found here: http://imagery.gettyimages.com/getty_images_search_tips/usa/index.html
Q. What care does Getty take in reviewing/approving imagery that will be available for usage?
A. Every single image and clip on Gettyimages.com is reviewed and approved by our Creative teams around the globe before being uploaded to the site. All new material is reviewed for technical standards, legal considerations, and of course for overall relevance and creative quality. We ensure that all content meets our stringent industry leading legal standards including approved releases where required.
Q. How is it determined if something is RF or RM?
A. Our Creative teams base this determination on many factors, including subject matter, style, production value, uniqueness and technical specifications, as well as customer requests and sales feedback. Getty Images is committed to providing all clients with a full spectrum of image and licensing options, to suit all possible needs.
Q. What kind of follow up or tracking is done to protect Getty from 'theft?' unlicensed/uncleared usage?
A. Getty Images engages in an active copyright compliance program to pursue unlicensed uses of our contributors' content. Because our contributors and partners trust us to protect and maximize the value of their original works, we pursue infringements and unauthorized uses of our digital content to protect our own and our contributors' rights.
Q. How about a Getty bio?
Getty Images is a leading creator and distributor of still imagery, footage and multimedia products, as well as a recognized provider of other forms of premium digital content, including music. Getty Images serves business customers in more than 100 countries and is the first place creative and media professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage images and other digital content. Its award-winning photographers and imagery help customers produce inspiring work which appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and Web sites.
Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com to learn more about how the company is advancing the unique role of digital media in communications and business, and enabling creative ideas to come to life.