Licensing and/or Selling Photos: Looking for the basics

[ken_b]

I've got a couple thousand or more photos that another website has asked about using, in a bulk deal. Most of those photos already appear on my own site.

I've given a number of sites permission to use a very limited number of photos, mostly those were information or .edu type sites. That's always been a rather informal, "sure, go ahead, with-in limits" deal.

But this is a bulk deal for the whole collection of photos.

So.... I've been trying to find some sample license forms and cruised around trying to get an idea of what pricing might be like. So far I'm not getting very far.

We're not talking "art" here, more like record shots.

First I'm trying to decide if the deal is even worth doing from a cash value perspective.

Second if it might be, I need to find some idea of what licensing might involve. Hence the hunt for what a sample license.

Any ideas, hints, places to look, pointing in the right direction for info, would all be appreciated.

[Syzygy]

Here are a couple of links to a bucket of photography-related resources:

[photosecrets.com...]
[editorialphoto.com...]

Hopefully there may be something among that lot which points you in the right direction...

Syzygy

[edited by: Syzygy at 6:12 pm (utc) on Sep. 17, 2007]

[ken_b]

Thanks Syzygy;

Lots of interesting reading there.

[reprint]

Be aware that if they post your good quality photos, that others on the internet will likely copy them and use them. Are you up to chasing everyone else down for violation of copyright?

Think about specifying no image bots. Will a low res do? Specify if they are allowed to use them on another website or not. What if someone else takes over that website? Will your photos be part of the assets of that website?

If your photos are just lying around and you would never have done anything with them, then get the best deal you can and put up with the copying.

If they are valuable, then be very careful with the terms of the agreement.

[ken_b]

I've done a bit more digging around and have pretty much concluded that this probably isn't something I want to do at this point.

The copyright issue, and copyright violations are something I could deal with. But the "going price" for "web only" images seems tobe far less than I'd accept for this kind of deal. That's based on what I've seen mention on some of the stock photo sites.

But essentially I'd be helping a bigger competitor get up to speed in a hurry in my little corner of the larger target market, especially since they've now also asked about advertising on my site.

Still pondering it though.

Any and all thoughts welcome.

[Syzygy]

Hmm, interesting and intriguing. Can you say, without giving anything away that you don't want to, what the photos are a general record of? I anticipate that their nature is crucially important.

I've got a couple thousand or more photos that another website has asked about using, in a bulk deal. Most of those photos already appear on my own site.

If you substitute "unique photos" (my words) for "unique articles", would you still consider providing them to a competitor, even if for a modest fee?

If the images are of an historical nature, and your desire is to have a wider audience see them, is it possible to link up with an .edu - even locally - to have them exhibited/catalogued?

If monetisation is a (or, the) key factor, would it be possible to licence the images in a limited form. Perhaps a one year renewable & negotiable contract, instead of an all encompassing "sign once and forget it" type of licence, could offer potential for you?

Rather than release all the photos in one batch, would it be viable if you were to drip feed them? With you determining the drip rate...

Is it possible that you may be able to "talk up" any remuneration involved? The competitor is keen to have them, but just how keen are they?

Shots in the dark, I know, but hopefully something may hit the target.

Syzygy

[RandomDot]

If you want to display all or a selection of the photos without worrying so much about the copy/paste issues and so on,, simply put them in a flash file and add the flash file to the design.

[ken_b]

If you substitute "unique photos" (my words) for "unique articles", would you still consider providing them to a competitor, even if for a modest fee?

Good question, The answer is... "not in bulk", and even then I wouldn't give permission to republish an article verbatim.

I anticipate that their nature is crucially important.

There's nothing real important or special about these images, it's just that it would be easier for them to deal with a single copyright holder than to deal with a lot of copyright holders, and it would be a whole lot faster than trying to send photographers out to get the shots.

Anyhow, at this point I can't see what's in this for me, so unless they come by with a huge pile of cash I'm going to pass on the opportunity.

Thanks for your comments folks.