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Photography vocabulary · Copyright & Licensing

License

Meaning in photography, with examples

/ˈlaɪsəns/nounCore term

In photography, license means: Permission from the copyright owner to use a photo in specific ways, for example where, for how long and in which media, usually in return for a fee.

In Turkish: lisans, kullanım izni, kullanım lisansı

How it is used

Commercial photographers price work by license: web only, print, advertising, worldwide, one year, exclusive or non-exclusive. You grant, buy, extend or breach a license. Usage rights is a common synonym in quotes.

Example sentences

  1. The fee includes a two-year license for web and social media use.

  2. If you want to use the photos on billboards, you'll need to extend the license.

Common collocations

  • grant a license
  • usage license
  • exclusive license
  • license fee
  • extend the license
  • copyrightThe legal right to control how a photo is copied, published and used. In most countries it belongs to the photographer from the moment the photo is taken.
  • royalty-freeLicensed for a single fee and then usable many times, within the license terms, without paying again for each use. It does not mean free of charge.
  • stock photographyReady-made photos that are licensed to many different customers through agencies or websites, instead of being shot for one client.
  • model releaseA signed document in which a person who appears in a photo gives permission for the image to be used, especially for commercial purposes.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Copyright & Licensing

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