Terms of Use

The Terms of Use (perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license) seem pretty standard for the industry (online photo collections). I still own the copyright of the photos and I can still make money off them in the future. However, I cannot grant others exclusive license to the photos. One would typically charge a much higher price for an exclusive license. However, an exclusive license would negate possible future income for that photo.

So, if you're considering posting anything that you'd want to grant an exclusive license on in the future - don't use the service. If you believe that the service will use the license agreement in order to make money off of your work and you don't want them to, don't use the service.

Today's photo is a shot taken in Yellowstone a few years ago:

Legal Stuff

I'm looking for places online to store my photo.

The first issue to think about is copyrights. If I upload my photos to a web service, what rights do they take on?

For instance, Goggle Picasa's 'Terms of Use' specifies the following:

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This licence is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this licence includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

This license seems to be in rather broad terms. The website Phanfare.com has a similar provision.

I like ImageEvent.com terms of use better:

ImageEvent claims no ownership rights in any image contained in any of your photo albums. For the sole purpose of displaying your images through your Album, and fulfilling any print and gift orders you or your album invitees place, you grant ImageEvent to use such images to fulfill such orders.

Flickr.com also uses the terms "worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive license" while professing to no claim of ownership rights.

Currently, I have a bunch of pictures up on ImageEvent.com and Picasa.

I've been an ImageEvent customer for a long time. However, I don't like the features of the service very much when compared to others. I'd like to find a new web 2.0 site, but the "worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive" licenses worry me. Perhaps needlessly.

Hmmm.