Image Licensing

[BobF]

Did a search and found a topic from 2006 but nothing more recent.

Does anyone know of a DAM app. that will allow you to manage image licensing?  I'm not talking about storing the actual agreements but just licensing terms on individual photos.  Start date, expiry date, usage, fees, that sort of thing. 

Tom Zimberoff's Photobyte software did some of this but it isn't a DAM app. in the sense of the software that's available currently.  And it isn't as user friendly as more current, GUI oriented applications.


Thanks.

[danaltick]

Bob,

Check this site out http://www.useplus.com/home.asp.  Here is a link to their license generator which you can get to from the UsePlus menu on the home page http://www.useplus.com/pluslicensegenerator/Steps/Start.aspx.  I would also read through the Licensing Guide over at ASMP http://www.asmp.org/commerce/legal/licensing/index.php.  That should keep you busy for a while ;-).

Dan

[BobF]

Thanks, Dan.  UsePlus looks interesting, although if I can find a solution that doesn't require me to pay for it, that would be preferable.     I'll take some time this coming week to look more closely at it.

WRT ASMP, my pre-photography background is in business and I have a very solid grounding in copyright, contracts and licensing so that information is less pertinent for me but would be helpful to many.  I'm also located in Canada so there are some differences in relevant laws. 

[danaltick]

Bob,

The UsePlus License Generator is free.  You do not have to join to use it.

Dan

[havezet]

Dan,

While I haven't actively searched for it; do you know if there is a XMP schema defined somewhere to support licensing data?

Thanks
Hert

[danaltick]

Hert,

This is what I plan to use to license my images http://www.useplus.com/useplus/license.asp.  This is a non-profit organization and they are making allot of progress wth universal licensing.

Dan

[havezet]

Dan,

Thank you for the pointer. I looked at their site, but can not find a more details XMP schema definition of the PLUS schema. From your link, it looks like exactly the thing I am looking for but without a more detailed description I can not implement this in IDimager. Do you know if a more detailed description is available (either for XMP or for other usages)?

Thank you

Hert

[danaltick]

Hert,

I would recommend contacting them for that info@useplus.org.

Here is an email conversation I had with Jeff Sedlick (President & CEO) last year that you (and others) might find informative.  He responded directly to me when I used that address:

Hi,

In addition to the XMP format, I would like to know if there is an automated way to also put a PLUS license into a readable paragraph format for placing on an estimate or quote, or embedding in the IPTC rights field?  Thank you.

Dan Altick

Hi Dan

While I believe that a number of applications will add the ability to place the PLUS rights description in paragraph form, we would advise avoiding it. The IPTC rights field and other free-text rights descriptions very often lead to misunderstandings, and also prohibits automated translation into the language of the person viewing the image (especially important when images will be viewed on the web). In a paragraph, a misplaced comma or misused “and” or “or” can drastically affect the meaning of the text. PLUS was developed to solve this problem and to get away from paragraphs. For this exact reason, IPTC is endorsing PLUS (they are a PLUS member) as the means of communicating and managing rights metadata.

PLUS xmp metadata will be viewable in all of the applications commonly used by photographers and their clients. Just like IPTC. Unlike IPTC, PLUS has been built from the ground up by a collaboration between artists, stock agencies and clients, and will be permanently controlled by this diverse coalition (rather than the newspaper publishers).

The future version of the PLUS reader tool will allow output of a rights statement in printable format, with the various information in separate fields.

Your participation and membership in PLUS will help the Coalition to achieve its goals and to support the future of the photography profession.

Thanks for your message and for your interest in PLUS.

Jeff Sedlik


Jeff,

Thanks for the response... makes sense.  And also, thank you for all you (and everyone else) have done to bring PLUS to the end user.  I feel the industry is in dire need of standards like this.

I will need to take the PLUS licenses though and put them into a paragraph form for placing on my estimates, stock quotes, and invoices.  Do you recommend just doing this manually for now using the information created by the license generator?

Thanks again,
Dan

Dan,
Yes – however after the integration of PLUS in various 3rd party software, we suggest a migration away from using paragraphs on estimates, invoices and stock quotes. The sooner the better.

For example, a format like this will eliminate the confusion caused by free-text descriptions, and is easy to implmement:

Duration: 1 Year
License Start Date: January 1, 2008
License End Date: December 31, 2008

Jeff

Dan

[peterkrogh]

Hert,
Let me know if you have any trouble getting in touch with Jeff Sedlick.
Peter

[BobF]

Sorry for the delay in getting back.  Thanks all for the good information.