Get to grips with property releases and understand your rights as a property owner as we talk you through what you need to do if you spot your building, trademark, work of art or any other property* in a stock image.
*What does the term property cover?
- A building
- A pet
- Intellectual property, including a brand, logo or trademark
- A work of art
- A recognisable design e.g. a phone, car or road sign
If you see your property in a stock image on 17³Ô¹ÏÔÚÏß, there are a few things you can check…
1. Did you sign a property release?
Property releases are legal documents between the photographer and the owner(s) of the property featured in a photograph. A signed release gives the photographer permission to feature the property in the photo and sell the photo in one form or another. A property release will be needed if the photographer wants to sell an image containing recognisable property as royalty-free or for commercial end use (we explain this more in point 3).
2. Is the image being used editorially?
Editorial use means that an image or clip is being used for non-commercial purposes, e.g. in a way that does not promote or endorse a brand, product or service. Editorial use tends to be when people use images to illustrate or support articles or text, for example in a newsworthy article online, or in a critique or an educational text book.
The property owner doesn’t need to give permission for the photo to be used editorially if it was shot from a public place and the property in the image was used ‘in context’. This means the image is used to support relevant text.
Important: There are some exceptions to this as some properties may have legal restrictions in place which limit how photographs can be used. It’s down to the photographer to make sure the necessary permissions have been obtained in order for them to take photos and sell them as stock.
3. Is the image being used commercially?
Commercial use describes when an image is used to promote something, sell a product or raise money for a cause, including advertising, marketing, promotion, packaging and consumer or merchandising products.
If an image is going to be used commercially then a property release is required to show that consent has been given for any property that appears within the image.
If you have signed a property release, then you’ll have given the photographer permission to sell this image of your property for commercial use. However, if you didn’t sign a property release or don’t think that you did, please get in touch with our customer service team.
Find more usage information in our blog ‘Understanding editorial and commercial usage’.
In the below example, the customer wants to use this image of a house in an advertising campaign. A property release would be needed as the image features a recognisable house, which will belong to someone (an owner). Â For the image to be covered for use in an advertising campaign, the owner of the property would need to have signed a property release to allow the photographer to sell the image for commercial purposes:
So, to recap:
It is ok for an image of your property to be used without a property release or your permission if:
- The photo is being used for editorial use e.g. the image is being used in context to illustrate an article or story
It’s not ok for the image of your property to be used without a property release or your permission:
- If the photo is being used for commercial use e.g. as part of a company’s advertising campaign or marketing material and it looks like you’re endorsing their product
- If the photo is being used on merchandise or consumer goods e.g. t-shirts or greetings cards
Note: When an image is uploaded to 17³Ô¹ÏÔÚÏß, it’s up to the contributor to confirm whether or not the owner(s) of the property in the photo have signed a property release. If you see your property in an image that says you have signed a release when you haven’t, or the image is being used for commercial use, get in touch with the stock library.
We’ve got some more handy blogs to help you get to grips with releases, so check them out for more info: