CHRISTOPHER BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY
STANDARD LICENSE AGREEMENT
LAST UPDATED: September 2023
Short Summary:
You can use these digital files however you would like on a personal level, but you may not use them to produce merchandise or for unethical purposes. If you share these digital files online in some manner, you are obligated to credit the photographer either by tagging me @christopherbrownart (Facebook) or by mentioning me as Christopher Brown Photography.
Entirety of the License Agreement:
This is a license agreement between you and Christopher Brown Photography that explains how you can use the photographic digital scans and/or files (individually and collectively, "CONTENT") that you license from Christopher Brown Photography. By downloading digital images from Christopher Brown Photography and/or by purchasing products using these digital images, you accept the terms of this agreement.
LETTER OF AGREEMENT
This agreement is between the person downloading these files, hereafter referred to as CLIENT, and Christopher Brown Photography, hereafter referred to as CONTRACTOR.
ERRORS
CLIENT has the responsibility to proofread and review all work produced during the project. As a result, the client is fully responsible for any errors in any included spelling, typography, illustrative layout, photography, photographic editing, or other errors discovered after final payment by the CLIENT.
LICENSING INFORMATION AND AGREEMENT
What types of licenses does Christopher Brown Photography offer?
Christopher Brown Photography offers two types of license models: royalty-free ("RF"), and rights-managed ("RM"), which are summarized as “Standard”, “Enhanced”, and “Premium” licenses, as summarized in a separate License Overview (FAQs). This License Agreement provides the basic description of a Standard License agreement. Any other license agreement can be discussed with Christopher Brown Photography, and a different license agreement contract will be offered.
In general,
Royalty-free content means that the license fee is paid once and there is no need to pay additional royalties if the content is re-used. Royalty-free content is licensed for worldwide, unlimited, perpetual use, and pricing is based on the usage (editorial, commercial, promotional, personal).
Rights-managed content is licensed for specific types of use, and pricing is based on factors such as size, placement, duration of use, and geographic distribution.
Comp license: You are welcome to use content that has been sent by Christopher Brown Photography for trial on a complimentary basis for test or sample (composite or comp) use only, for up to 30 days following download. However, unless a license is purchased, content cannot be used in any final materials or any publicly available materials. No other rights or warranties are granted for comp use.
How can I use licensed content?
You may use licensed content in any way consistent with the rights granted below and not restricted (see Restricted Uses below). Subject to those restrictions and the rest of the terms of this agreement, the rights granted to you by Christopher Brown Photography are dependent upon the type of license agreement:
Royalty-Free
Perpetual, meaning there is no expiration or end date on your rights to use the content. Worldwide, meaning content can be used in any geographic territory. Unlimited, meaning content can be used an unlimited number of times. Any and all media, meaning content can be used in print, in digital, or in any other medium or format. Non-Exclusive, meaning that you do not have exclusive rights to use the content. Christopher Brown Photography can license the same content to other customers.
Rights-Managed
Limited to the specific use, medium, period of time, print run, placement, size of content, and territory selected, and any other restrictions that accompany the content provided by Christopher Brown Photography by any method of content delivery or in an order confirmation or invoice. Non-Exclusive, meaning that, unless otherwise indicated on the website, your invoice, sales order, or separate agreement, you do not have exclusive rights to use the content. Christopher Brown Photography can license the same content to other customers.
Alternative Agreements
If you would like exclusive rights or sole rights to content, or to use content in a manner that is restricted below, contact Christopher Brown photography at [email protected] to discuss pricing of other agreements (as summarized in a separate License Overview [FAQs].).
For purposes of this agreement, "use" means to copy, reproduce, modify, edit, synchronize, perform, display, broadcast, publish, or otherwise make use of. Please make sure you read the Restricted Uses section below for exceptions.
Restricted Uses.
No Unlawful Use. You may not use content in pornographic, defamatory, or other unlawful manners, or in violation of any applicable regulations (including for sports content, any restrictions or credentials issued by a sports league or governing body) or industry codes.
No Alteration of Editorial Content. Content marked "editorial" or "intended for editorial" may be cropped or otherwise edited for technical quality, provided that the editorial integrity of the content is not compromised, but you may not otherwise alter the content.
No Sensitive Use Without Disclaimer. If you use content that features models or property in connection with a subject that would be unflattering or unduly controversial to a reasonable person (for example, sexually transmitted diseases), you must indicate: (1) that the content is being used for illustrative purposes only, and (2) any person depicted in the content is a model. For example, you could say: "Stock photo. Posed by model." No disclaimer is required for content marked "editorial" or "intended for editorial" that is used in a non-misleading editorial manner.
No False Representation of Authorship. You may not falsely represent that you are the original creator of a work that is made up largely of licensed content. For instance, you cannot create artwork based solely on licensed content and claim that you are the author.
Restricted Uses - unless additional license purchased. The following are prohibited without the prior written consent of Christopher Brown Photography and payment of an additional license fee:
No Commercial Use of Editorial Content. Unless explicitly authorized in a Christopher Brown Photography invoice, sales order confirmation, or license agreement, you may not use content marked "editorial" or "intended for editorial" for any commercial, promotional, advertorial, endorsement, advertising, gambling/betting/gaming uses, or merchandising purpose. This type of content is not model or property released and is primarily intended to be used for editorial purposes, meaning descriptive purposes such as news reporting and discussion of current events or other human interest topics. In addition, pursuant to the descriptions below, you are responsible for obtaining any necessary approvals from third parties such as individuals featured or event organizers before using "editorial" content for a commercial purpose.
No 'On-Demand' Products. Unless explicitly authorized in a Christopher Brown Photography invoice, sales order confirmation or license agreement, you may not use content in connection with "on-demand" products (e.g., products in which a licensed image is selected by a third party for customization of such product on a made-to-order basis), including, without limitation, postcards, mugs, t-shirts, calendars, posters, screensavers or wallpapers on mobile telephones, or similar items (this includes the sale of products through custom-designed websites, as well as sites such as zazzle.com and cafepress.com).
No Electronic Templates. Unless explicitly authorized in a Christopher Brown Photography invoice, sales order confirmation, or license agreement, you may not use content in electronic or digital templates intended for resale or other distribution intended for sales (for example, website templates, business card templates, electronic greeting card templates, and brochure design templates).
No Use in Trademark or Logo. Unless explicitly authorized in a Christopher Brown Photography invoice, sales order confirmation, or license agreement, you may not use content (in whole or in part) as the distinctive or distinguishing feature of a trademark, design mark, tradename, business name, service mark, or logo. Additionally, you shall not be entitled to register (in any jurisdiction) such content (in whole or in part) as a trademark or rely on any such registrations, prior use, and/or accrued goodwill to prevent any third party use of the content or any similar content (including by us, our customers, or the copyright owner of such content).
No Machine Learning, AI, or Biometric Technology Use. Unless explicitly authorized in a Christopher Brown Photography invoice, sales order confirmation, or license agreement, you may not use content (including any caption information, keywords, or other metadata associated with content) for any machine learning and/or artificial intelligence purposes, or for any technologies designed or intended for the identification of natural persons. Additionally, Christopher Brown Photography does not represent or warrant that consent has been obtained for such uses with respect to model-released content.
No Metadata Exploitation. Unless expressly authorized by Christopher Brown Photography, you may not use the caption information, keywords, accompanying text, or other metadata associated with content separate and apart from the content, or allow any third parties to access or use any such information associated with the content.
No NFT Use of Editorial Content. Unless explicitly authorized in a Christopher Brown Photography invoice, sales order confirmation, or license agreement, you may not use any items of content marked "editorial" or "intended for editorial" in connection with an immutable digital asset intended for sale or other distribution (such as a non-fungible token).
Who, besides me, can use the licensed content?
The rights granted to you are non-transferable and non-sublicensable, meaning that you cannot transfer or sublicense them to anyone else.
There are two exceptions:
Employer or client. If you are purchasing on behalf of your employer or client, then your employer or client can use the content. In that case, you represent and warrant that you have full legal authority to bind your employer or client to the terms of this agreement. If you do not have that authority, then your employer or client may not use the content. The rights purchased may only belong to you or your employer/client, depending on who is named as the "Licensee" at the time of purchase. In other words, if you purchase a royalty-free image, only one of you (and not both) may re-use that image for multiple projects.
Sharing and Storage Restrictions for RF Content. Please note that sharing and storage restrictions apply for royalty-free content. Up to 10 individuals (total, not at any given time) may use an item of content, and all individuals must be from the same legal entity, however you may make RF content available for viewing by any of your employees, clients and subcontractors. There are no restrictions on where each individual may store the content. The raw file of content may not be provided to anyone outside of your legal entity other than subcontractors. If you require content to be available to more than 10 users, please contact Christopher Brown Photography to purchase rights for additional users.
Subcontractors. You may allow subcontractors (for example, your printer or mailing house) or distributors to use content in any production or distribution process related to your final project or end use. These subcontractors and distributors must agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement and may not use the content for any other purpose.
Intellectual Property Rights.
Who owns the content? All of the licensed content is owned by Christopher Brown Photography. All rights not expressly granted in this agreement are reserved by Christopher Brown Photography. You may not assert any right to revenue from a collecting society, social media website, content sharing platform, or any other third party in respect of photocopying, digital copying, sharing, distribution, or other secondary uses of the licensed content.
Attribution. Do I need to include a photo credit? Yes, you do need to include a photo credit for commercial use, and if you are using content for editorial purposes, you must include a credit adjacent to the content or in production credits. The credit should be in the following form “Photograph(s) by Christopher Brown Photography”.
Can I use the Christopher Brown Photography name or logo, or the name and logos of its content suppliers? You may use the name of Christopher Brown Photography and/or its content suppliers as necessary to give attribution, but you may not otherwise use their names, logos, or trademarks without prior written approval.
Termination/Cancellation/Withdrawal.
Termination. Christopher Brown Photography may terminate this agreement at any time if you breach any of the terms of this or any other agreement with Christopher Brown Photography, in which case you must immediately: cease using the content; delete or destroy any copies; and, if requested, confirm to Christopher Brown Photography in writing that you have complied with these requirements.
Social Media Termination. If you use the content on a social media platform or other third party website and the platform or website uses (or announces that it plans to use) the content for its own purpose or in a way that is contrary to this agreement, the rights granted for such use shall immediately terminate, and in that event, upon Christopher Brown Photography's request, you agree to remove any content from such platform or website.
Refunds/Cancellation. All requests for refunds/cancellations must be made in writing to Christopher Brown Photography. In the event CLIENT cancels this agreement prior to completion, within five (5) days of such cancellation, CLIENT shall pay CONTRACTOR for: (1) all work performed up to the date of termination; (2) all outside expenses and commitments that have been incurred and cannot be canceled; and, (3) a cancellation fee equal to 15% of the remaining fees that would other-wise have been paid if the project would have been completed. In addition, in the event CLIENT cancels this agreement after completion, provided that the request is made within ten days (10) and the licensed content has not been used, Christopher Brown Photography may cancel the relevant order and issue a partial refund to you (to not include a refund of the downpayment). No credits or refunds are available for the downpayment, or for cancellation requests received more than ten (10) days from your receipt of content, both of which are non-refundable. In the event of cancellation, your rights to use the content terminate, and you must delete or destroy any copies of the content.
Content Withdrawal. Christopher Brown Photography may discontinue licensing any item of content at any time in its sole discretion. Upon notice from Christopher Brown Photography, or upon your knowledge, that any content may be subject to a claim of infringement of a third party's right for which Christopher Brown Photography may be liable, Christopher Brown Photography may require you to immediately, and at your own expense: cease using the content, delete or destroy any copies; and ensure that your clients, distributors and/or employer do likewise. Christopher Brown Photography will provide you with replacement content (determined by Christopher Brown Photography in its reasonable commercial judgment) free of charge, subject to the other terms of this agreement.
Representations and Warranties. Christopher Brown Photography makes the following representations and warranties:
Warranty of Non-Infringement. For all licensed content, Christopher Brown Photography warrants that your use of such content in accordance with this agreement and whatever other forms of agreement delivered by Christopher Brown Photography to you (that is, excluding any modifications, overlays, or re-focusing done by you) will not infringe on any copyrights or moral rights of the content owner/creator.
Additional Warranties for Certain Content.
RF: For licensed royalty-free content (excluding content marked "editorial" or "intended for editorial"), Christopher Brown Photography warrants that your use of such content in accordance with this agreement and in the form delivered by Christopher Brown Photography (that is, excluding any modifications, overlays, or re-focusing done by you) will not infringe on any trademark or other intellectual property right, and will not violate any right of privacy or right of publicity.
RM: For licensed rights-managed content where Christopher Brown Photography specifically notifies you that a model and/or property release has been obtained, Christopher Brown Photography warrants that your use of such content in accordance with this agreement and in the form delivered by Christopher Brown Photography (that is, excluding any modifications, overlays, or re-focusing done by you) will not, where a property release has been obtained, infringe on any trademark or other intellectual property right and/or will not, where a model release has been obtained, violate any right of privacy or right of publicity.
Warranty Disclaimer. Unless specifically warranted above, Christopher Brown Photography does not grant any right or make any warranty with regard to the use of names, people, trademarks, trade dress, logos, registered, unregistered or copyrighted audio, designs, works of art or architecture depicted or contained in the content. In such cases, you are solely responsible for determining whether release(s) is/are required in connection with your proposed use of the content, and you are solely responsible for obtaining such release(s). You acknowledge that no releases are generally obtained for content identified as "editorial" or "intended for editorial" and that some jurisdictions provide legal protection against a person's image, likeness, or property being used for commercial purposes when they have not provided a release. You also acknowledge that organizers of sports, news and entertainment events sometimes impose contractual restrictions on commercial use of content captured at their events. You are also solely responsible for payment of any amounts that may be due under, and compliance with any other terms of, any applicable collective bargaining agreements as a result of your use of the licensed content.
Caption/Metadata Disclaimer. While Christopher Brown Photography has made reasonable efforts to correctly categorize, keyword, caption, and title the content, Christopher Brown Photography does not warrant the accuracy of such information, or of any metadata provided with the content.
No Other Warranties. Except as provided in this section above, the content is provided "as is" without representation, warranty, or condition of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied representations, warranties, or conditions of merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. Christopher Brown Photography does not represent or warrant that the content or its delivery will meet your requirements or that use of the content or websites will be uninterrupted or error-free.
Indemnification/Limitation of Liability.
Indemnification of Christopher Brown Photography by you. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Christopher Brown Photography and its current or potential parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, and content suppliers, and each of their respective officers, directors, and employees from all damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal costs including attorney fees) arising out of or in connection with (i) your use of any content outside the scope of this agreement; (ii) any breach or alleged breach by you (or anyone acting on your behalf) of any of the terms of this or any other agreement with Christopher Brown Photography; and (iii) your failure to obtain any required release for your use of content.
Indemnification of you by Christopher Brown Photography. Provided that you are not in breach of this or any other agreement with Christopher Brown Photography, and as your sole and exclusive remedy for any breach of the warranties set forth above, Christopher Brown Photography agrees, subject to the terms of this Section, to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless you, your corporate parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, and each of your respective officers, directors, and employees from all damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal costs including attorney fees) arising out of or in connection with any breach or alleged breach by Christopher Brown Photography of its warranties in the Section above. This indemnification does not apply to the extent any damages, costs, or losses arise out of or are a result of modifications made by you to the content or the context in which the content is used by you. This indemnification also does not apply to your continued use of content following notice from Christopher Brown Photography, or upon your knowledge, that the content is subject to a claim of infringement of a third party's right.
The party seeking indemnification must promptly notify in writing the other party about the claim. The indemnifying party (the one covering the costs) has the right to assume the handling, settlement, or defense of any claim or litigation. The indemnified party (the one not covering the costs) has to cooperate in any way reasonably requested by the indemnifying party. The indemnifying party will not be liable for legal costs including attorney fees and other costs incurred prior to the other party giving notice of the claim for which indemnity is sought.
Limitation of Liability. CHRISTOPHER BROWN FREELANCING WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR OTHER SIMILAR DAMAGES, COSTS, OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF CHRISTOPHER BROWN FREELANCING HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, COSTS OR LOSSES. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT PERMIT THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIABILITY.
General Provisions.
Assignment. This agreement is personal to you and is not assignable by you without Christopher Brown Photography’s prior written consent. Christopher Brown Photography may assign this agreement, without notice or consent, to any corporate affiliate or to any successor in interest, provided that such entity agrees to be bound by these terms.
Audit. Upon reasonable notice, you agree to provide to Christopher Brown Photography sample copies of projects or end uses that contain licensed content, including by providing Christopher Brown Photography with free of charge access to any pay-walled or otherwise restricted access website or platform where content is reproduced. In addition, upon reasonable notice, Christopher Brown Photography may, at its discretion, either through its own employees or through a third party, audit your records directly related to this agreement and your use of licensed content in order to verify compliance with the terms of this agreement. If any audit reveals an underpayment by you to Christopher Brown Photography of five percent (5%) or more of the amount you should have paid, then in addition to paying Christopher Brown Photography the amount of the underpayment and any other remedies to which Christopher Brown Photography is entitled, you also agree to reimburse Christopher Brown Photography for the costs of conducting the audit.
Electronic storage. You agree to retain the copyright symbol, the name of Christopher Brown Photography, the content's identification number, and any other information or metadata that may be embedded in the electronic file containing the original content, and to maintain appropriate security to protect the content from unauthorized use by third parties. You may make one (1) copy of the content for backup purposes.
Governing Law/Arbitration. This agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of Florida, U.S.A., without reference to its laws relating to conflicts of law. Any disputes arising from or related to this agreement shall be finally settled by binding, confidential arbitration by a single arbitrator selected using the rules and procedures for arbitrator selection under the JAMS' Expedited Procedures in its Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures ("JAMS"), in effect on the date of the commencement of arbitration to be held in the jurisdiction of Bay County, Florida. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in English and all documentation shall be presented and filed in English. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on the parties, and judgment may be entered on the arbitration award and enforced by any court of competent jurisdiction. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not govern this agreement. The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover its reasonable legal costs including attorney fees relating to that aspect of its claim or defense on which it prevails, and any opposing costs awards shall be offset. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Christopher Brown Photography shall have the right to commence and prosecute any legal or equitable action or proceeding before any court of competent jurisdiction to obtain injunctive or other relief against you in the event that, in the opinion of Christopher Brown Photography, such action is necessary or desirable to protect Christopher Brown Photography's intellectual property rights. The parties agree that, notwithstanding any otherwise applicable statute(s) of limitation, any arbitration proceeding shall be commenced within two years of the acts, events, or occurrences giving rise to the claim.
Severability. If one or more of the provisions in this agreement is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remaining provisions should not be affected. Such provisions should be revised only to the extent necessary to make them enforceable.
Waiver. No action of either party, other than express written waiver, may be construed as a waiver of any provision of this agreement.
Entire Agreement. No terms of conditions of this agreement may be added or deleted unless made in writing and accepted in writing by both parties, or issued electronically by Christopher Brown Photography and accepted by you. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms of this agreement and the terms contained on any purchase order sent by you, the terms of this agreement will apply.
Notice. All notices required to be sent to Christopher Brown Photography under this agreement should be sent via email to [email protected]. All notices to you will be sent via email to the email given previously in writing or electronically to Christopher Brown Photography.
Taxes. You agree to pay and be responsible for any and all sales taxes, use taxes, value-added taxes, withholding taxes, and duties imposed by any jurisdiction as a result of the license granted to you, or of your use of the licensed content.
Interest on Overdue Invoices. If you fail to pay an invoice in full within the time specified, Christopher Brown Photography may add a service charge of 1.5% per month, or such lesser amount as is allowed by law, on any unpaid balance until payment is received.
Licensing Entity. Christopher Brown Photography is the licensing entity under this agreement.