This License is Non Transferable

[by Steve Whittaker]

Once in a while I will meet a marketing person who demands the right to allow property owners, contractors and other entities unrestricted use of our images without additional fees. Some have expressed their right to resell photographer’s images to recover their firm’s cost from an assignment or worse, make a profit from our intellectual property, the images we create.

They may have been influenced in the past by photographers who allow unlimited and unrestricted usage to any third party firms such as contractors, vendors or manufacturers who want them as part of a package and this is a dangerous trend.

There are some photographers who have been shooting for years and didn’t care about the long-term issues or the loss of potential revenue, not to mention the potential damage they are causing to our industry. These photographers are giving away potential income but worse, they have created a culture or a norm by allowing their clients to walk all over them.

If you have not already done so, it would be in your best interest to add the NON TRANSFERABLE clause to third party requestors into your contracts. That offers further protection to your intellectual property.  It also will give you a stronger potential for future income. You will need to monitor and enforce that issue but clients will pay attention and you have the potential for making a better profit from your work.

Invest some time exploring the www.asmp.org web site. Start with the link to commerce and publications on business practices. Browsing through the legal resources section can empower you to move your career forward with a better understanding of how to create stronger terms and conditions, licensing, copyright registration and beyond.

Your estimate, contract and your terms and conditions need to be firm and well defined. Illustrate what the client is receiving. You also need to illustrate the limits of their license, the terms or period of use again. The information that you can down load from that site will surprise you and is well worth the time invested.

The key to making a better living in our profession is controlling the licensing of our images and protecting our future as ASMP photographers.” Empower yourself.