Antibes, Côte d'Azur, France
What is a licence?
The copyright of any piece of art is the ownership of its creator, i.e. the artist.
When an organisation or another person want to use legally a photograph, it must obtain a licence from the artist.
This licence allows its owner to use a photograph for the usages described in a licence contract.
The licence contract is a simple document of 2 to 4 pages which describes the allowed usages, garantees the authenticity of the photograph and indicates the cost of the licence. It specifies the rights and obligations of every stakeholder and avoids potential misunderstandings. It is the best way to describe to the client what he's buying.
The cost of the licence is negociated based on the intended usages (ex. publicity, book, magazine, web site, banner), the resolution of the desired image, the number of reproductions published, the region where it is published (ex. local vs international), the duration of this diffusion, the exclusivity requirement about the image, the transferability of the licence, the indication of the copyright, etc.
This contract is sometimes written by the client (ex. magazine editors), sometimes by the artist.
So, don't hesitate to contact me to negociate a licence, it is a lot simpler that it seems !