Phil Bates, President of Artbeats, defines and explains the basic terminology and rules for using stock footage legally.
Definitions
Copyright – A legal term defining ownership of a creative work, also known as intellectual property. A copyright is legal even if it has not been registered with the US Government. Registering a copyright is a good idea since it allows the copyright holder to defend his or her copyright in court.
End User License Agreement (EULA) – A document that accompanies the sale or delivery of stock imagery (stills or footage) The EULA is a contract between the copyright owner and the purchaser and describes the permissible uses of the stock imagery. It may be a paper hard copy that comes with a shipment of a disk, or a click-through electronic page that you must accept before downloading an image.
License – A grant of permission to use stock imagery. The scope and limitations of the grant is defined in the End User License Agreement. Note: A license to use stock imagery is not a transfer of ownership.
Property Release (similar to Talent Release) – A document signed by the property owner giving permission for the photographer to publish images of his property.
Public Domain Content – Material that is un-copyrighted, whose copyright has expired or is un-copyrightable. It should not be confused with “freeware” or “royalty free” content, both of which are owned by the authors and have a copyright.
A work may be in the public domain because:
1. It was created before copyright laws (example: the Bible),
2. Its copyright protection has expired (example: Moby Dick),
3. It never had copyright protection or its protection was lost (example: a work published before March 1, 1989 and did not carry a copyright notice),
4. It was dedicated to the public domain.
In addition, the following items are never covered by copyright:
1. Works created by the U.S. government (except under contract).
2. Reprints of works in the public domain (but a license may restrict use.)
3. Ideas, facts, and common property (i.e., calendars and phone books)
4. Federal laws and court decisions
5. Words, names, slogans and phrases
6. Most blank forms
7. Recipes, discoveries, procedures, and systems (but not the words that describe them.)
1. Works created by the U.S. government (except under contract).
2. Reprints of works in the public domain (but a license may restrict use.)
3. Ideas, facts, and common property (i.e., calendars and phone books)
4. Federal laws and court decisions
5. Words, names, slogans and phrases
6. Most blank forms
7. Recipes, discoveries, procedures, and systems (but not the words that describe them.)
