Stock image licenses can be quite confusing. When you license an image, you acquire certain usage rights to it. But not all stock images are free for commercial use. And, also ‘Royalty Free’ does not automatically mean free for commercial use or free of copyright.
It’s important to know what license you need for the commercial use of an image – whether you want to acquire and use stock images or whether you wish to sell images of your own art.
But first and foremost, you need to understand the difference between personal use and commercial use.
But before we get into the nitty-gritty of what you need to observe when using photos for commercial purposes, there’s a little extra waiting for you:
Grab your FREE Royalty Free License Agreement Template now
If you like to sell your own images, I’ve prepared two License Agreement Templates for you that you can download for free from the Freebie Library.
One is a Royalty Free License Agreement Template, and the other an Extended Royalty Free License Agreement Template.
Both templates are fully editable and customizable to your personal needs. This is what you will get exactly:
Royalty Free License Agreement Template & Extended Royalty Free License Agreement Template
- 3-5 Pages (each licensing template)
- Fully editable text
- DOCX and RTF
- Logo placeholder
- Image description field
- First part: Overview (image & license information)
- Second part: Detailed regulations adaptable to your personal needs
To learn more about writing your own license agreement, check out my post on → How To Write A Digital Image License Agreement. For more about all the different licenses, go to my → Complete Overview of Image License Types.
But without further ado now, let’s get started right away and have a look at the difference between personal use and commercial use of an image!
What’s the Difference between Personal Use and Commercial Use of an Image?
When you buy a stock photo, you acquire it along with an image license. Licenses typically distinguish between commercial use and non-commercial use of an image. Non-commercial use is also referred to as personal use.
As a rule of thumb, if an image is not free for commercial use, you cannot use the image to bring about a financial gain in whatever form.
You cannot use the image to create items you are going to sell. You cannot include the picture in any project you are going to market or promote.
But heads up: You cannot give a non-commercial use picture away for free either! In particular, you are not allowed to redistribute the image in certain ways.
As an example, you cannot create promotional items with the picture and give away these items for free. Because even giving away promotional items for free is a commercial act. You’re still trying to raise awareness for your brand, and eventually generate revenue with it.
In brief, doing anything with a non-commercial use image that makes you money is prohibited!
What can you do with an image for non-commercial use or personal use?
Well, you can still do plenty of things with non-commercial use images. Basically, you are free to use the picture for anything that relates to your personal purposes.
You can print a poster and hang it up in your bedroom. You can print a phone cover and use it for your iPhone. Or, you can write a blog post and add the picture to make the post look nicer.
Furthermore, you may also include the image in school projects or business presentations. And, you can make your own artwork with it. But you are not allowed to sell it.
Can Stock Photos be used for Commercial Use?
Well, in a nutshell: ☺
It totally depends under what license you acquired the picture. Stock agencies tend to sell their images under different licenses. You choose the license depending on what you want to do with the picture.
The standard license for stock images is a Royalty Free license. This license allows you to use the picture for non-commercial, personal purposes only.
If you want to be using photos for commercial purposes, you’ll need to purchase an Extended Royalty Free license. This license allows you to use the picture for sale and redistribution.
Simply put, if you want to make money with the picture, you need to go for an Extended Royalty Free license.
But watch out. Many of the pictures available from stock agencies are sold under an Editorial License. Editorial licensed photos must not be used for commercial purposes.
Such photos usually depict celebrities, public figures, products, trademarks or buildings. Public and copyright laws prohibit the commercial use of such items. You can only use them for editorial purposes, meaning for newspaper or magazine articles, news-related blog posts, non-fiction books, documentaries, and the like.
Can I use Royalty Free Images for Commercial Use?
To answer this question in a nutshell: ☺
Royalty Free is the most common license type that stock photography agencies use to sell their images. Yet, Royalty Free is probably the most misleading name one could have chosen for that license. Because Royalty Free photos are not FREE at all!
Images acquired under a standard Royalty Free License are NOT FREE for commercial use.
Also, Royalty Free licenses are NOT FREE of cost. Every Royalty Free license is a paid license. You need to pay a license fee regardless of whether you want to use the image for personal or for commercial purposes.
Then, why are Royalty Free Images called FREE?
The Free in ‘Royalty Free’ means that you don’t have to pay money (or ‘royalties’) to the owner of the image (or to the stock agency) every time again when you use the photo.
You pay for the Royalty Free photo once, and then you can use it as many times you want – for as long as you want!
Of course, you must adhere to the conditions of the Royalty Free license under which you bought the image. There are two types of Royalty Free licenses:
The Standard Royalty Free License
The Standard Royalty Free license does not grant you any commercial usage rights. You can only use such images for personal, non-commercial matters.
The Extended Royalty Free License
If you want to use a certain photo for commercial purposes, you will have to acquire an Extended Royalty Free license.
The Extended License gives you additional rights on top of the Standard Royalty Free license. With an Extended License, you can use the image in practically any commercial setting you want.
Typically, Extended Royalty Free licenses are split into Print-Extended and Web-Extended Licenses. The Print-Extended license allows you to use the pic for anything that is a printed or ‘physical’ item. This includes photos and posters, postcards, T-shirts, packaging, phone covers, kitchen trays, etc.
You can also sell your own art creations as prints.
The Web-Extended license allows you to use the picture for anything ‘digital’ that happens on the Internet. For example, to design and sell e-cards, e-books, website templates, videos, and so on. And you can use the image to sell your own art creations as virtual downloadable files.
→ Best File Type To Save Digital Art
Depending on the stock agency, the Extended License may grant you the right to use the image for an unlimited number of copies. It’s also possible that it restricts the reproduction limit. Common reproduction limits are 500,000 copies. But some licenses may allow only 250,000 copies.
Each stock agency has their individual licensing terms. They may add or remove restrictions to the usage rights of their Royalty Free license options.
That’s why you always need to make sure to read the licensing terms carefully.
Does Royalty Free mean No Copyright?
When you purchase an image under a Royalty Free license, you acquire the right to use the photo in a certain way. But you do not obtain the copyright to the photo itself.
The photographer (or other type of artist) who created the picture remains the owner. They retain the copyright to their picture. This allows photographers and artists to sell their images multiple times, and to make more income with it.
In Conclusion
Commercial use of an image always occurs when you use that image in any context that helps you make a financial profit. This involves selling digital or printed items with the image. It also means promoting and marketing such items.
Even giving away such items for free is a commercial use of that image! Because eventually, your intention is to create more exposure for your product or service and eventually make more profit.
Royalty Free images are neither free of cost, nor are they free for commercial use and free of copyright! Using photos for commercial purposes requires you to have an Extended License for them. The Royalty Free Extended License allows you to create digital items or print products for resale, promotion, marketing or redistribution.
With a Royalty Free Standard license, on the other hand, you can use the picture for personal purposes only.
Royalty Free Extended Licenses may vary from one stock photo agency to another. Some agencies, for instance, limit the amount of copies you can make with the picture. So always make sure to read the license terms before you actually use the image!
Grab your FREE Royalty Free License Agreement Template now
I hope this post on ‘What is Commercial Use of an Image?’ was helpful and explained the difference between commercial use and personal use of an image! If you liked this post, please consider sharing it with other artists!
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