NDAs & IP · Template
A photography licence lets a client use your photos for set uses, places and time, while you keep the copyright. Describe your deal in a sentence and Lex drafts it, with Plain English beside every clause.
Lex drafts it in Plain English beside the legal wording. Share one link; both sides agree and sign.
A photography licence, often part of a photography contract, lets a client use images you created without transferring ownership. It defines usage (web, social, print, paid ads), territory, duration and whether the licence is exclusive. Photographers commonly keep copyright and license usage, because it lets them charge for wider or longer use later. The same contract usually also covers the shoot: date, deliverables, fees and cancellation.
Also called: photo licence, photography contract, image licence, photo license, image license.
Example wording Lex starts from, with what each clause means. Your draft is written around your deal, so the wording changes with it.
Legal wording · example
The Photographer grants the Client a non-exclusive licence to use the Images for [usage] in [territory] for [period] from delivery. Copyright remains with the Photographer.
In Plain English
The client can use the photos for the agreed uses, places and time. You still own them.
How this clause works →Legal wording · example
The Client shall pay a booking fee of [x] on signature and the balance within [14] days of delivery of the Images.
In Plain English
A booking fee secures the date; the rest is due shortly after delivery.
How this clause works →Legal wording · example
If the Client cancels less than [7] days before the shoot, the booking fee is non-refundable.
Legal wording · example
The Client is responsible for obtaining any location or property releases needed for the Client's intended use, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing.
In Plain English
Unless agreed otherwise, the client sorts any location or property permissions for how they plan to use the photos.
The governing-law clause decides which legal system reads the contract. Some rules, such as how documents are signed, time limits for claims and terms that cannot be excluded, differ by place. These pages cite the legislation:
No, there is no blank Word or PDF file. You describe the deal in a sentence, Lex drafts the photography licence with your details already in it, and you share one link. The other side reads it in Plain English, suggests changes and signs in the browser, free.
It depends on local law and the contract. In the UK, the photographer is commonly the first owner of copyright unless the contract assigns it. A licence lets the client use the images while ownership stays with the photographer.
A licence grants specified usage rights for a period. A buyout usually means an assignment of copyright, or a very broad perpetual licence, and is priced higher.
In British English 'licence' is the noun and 'license' the verb. In American English 'license' is used for both. Contracts.io prints whichever matches the governing law you pick.
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