What Is an Image Authorization Company, and What Are the Benefits of Working with One?
October 1, 2018
What does it mean to license an image? If you are a photographer or an artist, you need to understand that no one can use your image without your permission. There is an image licensing industry to ensure that any image you take or create is not used by someone else as if they are own it. There is copyright for images which gives photographers authority over their original work. A good example is when a t-shirt design company want to use an image that you created or captured. They cannot print the image on their t-shirts without your express authority. However, one question lingers in the minds of many people when it comes to licensing. How is it done? One thing you need to know is that once you grant someone the right to use the image, it should be like a contract. It should consider timeframes, the number of products and of course your compensation.
Licensing Company
There are licensing companies. However, they are known to a few people. What purpose do they serve? A licensing company is that will take your image and market it on your behalf. You will give them the rights to negotiate with potential buyers on your behalf. The company will also be responsible for licensing agreement with the buyer. Once they have successfully licensed your image, all you need to do is sit back and wait for your paycheck.
There different licensing companies and not all of them are genuine. Sometimes you need to be careful with who you do business with. When it comes to matters of contracts, you need to be careful with the terms and conditions. Many times, image owners are duped by companies and find themselves giving away their images. It is worth note that your licensing company is just a marketer but have no right to use the image as their own. You remain the copyright owner of the images and not the company.
A contract between a photographer or image owner should be done in such a manner that the copyrights are not unintentionally transferred to the company. The rights should only be transferred to the buyer, once the deal is completed. Owners also need to be very careful with the transfer of rights. It should come out clearly in the contract that the buyer is in no way allowed to distribute the image to other parties. The rights should be restricted to the buyer usage only and not any other party. Reselling is therefore not an option to be encouraged.
The biggest benefit of working with a licensing company is that you are likely the sell a lot more than you would do it yourself. A company will ideally have a large pool of buyers who are likely to seal a deal or your image. As a photographer or image creator, you need to put your image where you are likely to get clients quickly. So, work with a company with a good reputation and make income passively from your work.