Royalty Free & Copyright Free Images

What is Royalty Free ?

Royalty-free images aren’t necessarily free. In most cases, you’ll have to pay a one time fee to obtain the rights to use the image. Then you can use it as many times as you like. The “free” in “royalty-free” only means that you do not have to pay royalties to the owner of the image every time you use it.

When it comes to royalty free content or products, the situation is different from copyright free. The owner of a property licenses it to a licensee that wants to use said property. The two sides can negotiate a deal involving a single payment or other terms. After that deal has been made, that particular property becomes royalty free for the licensee. They are not required to make future payments in order to use a given property for their own purposes. Non-licensees cannot use the property in question without getting a license themselves.

• The most basic concept you must know to work with stock photos is that you are acquiring the right to use a photo in a certain way, not the property of the photo itself.

What is Copyright Free?

A copyright-free image is one that is provided by the photographer to be used by any person. However, the owner of the picture or photographer may still own a copyright on a particular photo or image, but simply has provided authorization for the image to be used by others.

With this things in mind, copyright free pertains to anything that was copyrighted but no longer holds that designation. Copyrights do expire after a given time, which varies from country to country. The type of work involved will affect the exclusivity period and expiration of that period, too. Also, a copyright owner can negotiate a deal to provide individuals or businesses with a full or partial copyright for their works. Those entities can then utilize those artistic works or other products without fear of repercussions.

• The internet will probably be the most effective way to begin a search for a copyright-free image.

Basic Difference :

In the end, royalty free means a licensee can use a work without owning the copyright or paying royalties on a per use basis. Copyright free means the copyright itself has expired or a second party has acquired the right to use that work. These two terms are used interchangeably, but the fact of the matter is that they couldn’t be any more different.