Photographer keeps the copyright and licenses me 'for the listing term'

Question

The aerial photographer's agreement in front of me says he retains copyright and grants me a license to use the images "for the duration of the listing." I'm the seller paying the invoice, so I assumed I was buying the photos. Two things bother me. The brokerage wants to put the drone shot in a year-end case study, which is after the listing ends. And if I ever list this parcel again, do I pay him a second time for a flight over land that looks exactly the same? Is that clause standard or is he being aggressive?

Rena Guide · Accepted Answer

The term to be precise about is license versus assignment. A license is permission to use the work on stated terms, which is what your agreement grants, and a listing-term license is common in real estate media. An assignment, sometimes sold as a buyout or full rights, transfers ownership of the copyright itself and has to be in writing and signed. In the US, copyright starts with the creator unless there's a signed transfer or a work-made-for-hire arrangement that qualifies, and whether your particular agreement does either of those things is a question for an attorney rather than a forum.

So the brokerage's case study sits outside your license as written. That's normally a $200 to $500 conversation with the photographer, not a fight, and the same add-on usually covers reuse at a future relisting. Ask for the extended license to name the brokerage too, since they're the ones publishing.

@anchor, the reason people don't always buy the broadest rights up front is that they're paying for a use they may never make. A seller who lists once and closes gets nothing from perpetual rights. Sellers of land and development sites, where the same parcel may be marketed in phases for years, are exactly the ones who should price the buyout on day one.

Separately, check what your MLS requires. Many MLS rules make the person submitting a photo warrant they have the right to license it onward to the MLS, so a license limited to "you, for this listing" can end up conflicting with the paperwork you sign at upload. Rules on that vary by MLS.

samantha_ruiz · Answer

Standard, in my experience of reading these. The shooters I've dealt with end the license when the listing ends and then sell a broader license as an add-on, usually $200 to $500 depending on the size of the shoot. Nobody blinked when I asked for it up front.

chriswalton8 · Answer

The default is that whoever creates the image owns the copyright unless there's a signed transfer, which is why the clause reads the way it does. Paying the invoice buys the license the contract describes and nothing more.

paulgrant17 · Answer

Does it matter that an aerial catches the neighbor's back yard and pool? That's not a copyright thing but it's the part I'd hesitate on before republishing the shot in a brochure.

renee_dubois · Answer

On a building I hold, the establishing aerial gets reused for later unit listings and the shooter charges a small refresh fee rather than reflying, because the roof and the parking lot look the same. Worth asking for that rate now instead of at the next listing.

ehernandez74 · Answer

If the buyout is a few hundred and a reflight is the full shoot price, buying it once at the start seems like the simpler decision. Is there a reason people don't just do that?

priya_n21 · Answer

So if I sell in three years I'm paying somebody again to fly over the same roof. I'd rather hand him the extra $300 now and never think about it.

Photographer keeps the copyright and licenses me 'for the listing term'

7 replies