Intellectual property and commercial use

[MikeMarris]

Recently I came across a document called "Known image restrictions - Learn about some known properties that are not acceptable in images or videos submitted to Adobe Stock" that you can find there.

The thing is, I tried to search for the images from the list on the stock and interestingly enough I was able to find hundreds results both photos and videos. You can obviously do the same.

For my searches I picked these three random objects from the list:

- "Reichstag dome"

- "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman"

- "Plaza de Toros de Ronda"

I'm sure the contributors of the photos are not breaking any restrictions since they were approved by Adobe, but at the same time this left me curious what the restrictions do really indicate. My initial thought was that the works should have restrictions for a commercial use, but there is no such a notice for a potential buyer at all, they can freely purchase the extended licence too.

I'm an amateur contributor and I would be happy to understand the restrictions so that I work on my content keeping them in mind. Please help me to understand them better.

P.S. It would be also nice to know what does the country column means, I mean some IPs have a particular country while others state "World" in them. Does this indicate the origin or the restricted territory?

[jacquelingphoto2017 · Accepted solution]

Hi Mikemarris

Please follow the guideline as they are printed. You will see many images that are not according to the guidelines on the website. It does not mean that they were approved by Adobe, and they will eventually be removed. Adobe inherited many images that are not according to their standard when they acquired the portfolio of Fotolia. Moderators are in the process of removing them. This will however take a very long time. Therefore you will continue to see these images surfacing from time to time. If you do not follow the guidelines as you see it. Your submitted images will be rejected.

Your Question: ​It would be also nice to know what does the country column means, I mean some IPs have a particular country while others state "World" in them. Does this indicate the origin or the restricted territory?

Yes. If you submit from these territories the images that are stated as restricted then they will be rejected, except you can produce a Property Release signed by authorized personnel.

I hope you found this helpful

Best wishes

JG

[MikeMarris]

Hello Jacquelin G,

thank you for your response, this is clear enough. But before I close the topic and accept your answer may I ask you to check my question about countries once again please. For example the Lego has Denmark in the country column. Does this simply indicates the origin of the trademark / copyright OR this indicates the area of trademark coverage, which means that photos with Lego cannot be used in Denmark but can be used somewhere else? If it's the origin, then I do not understand why some IPs have "World" in the country column. If it's the coverage, then how is this regulated? A person cannot submit a photo of IP from his country to stock, but person from other country can? Which means a person can submit photos of IPs that are not in his country, right?

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi Mike

Absolutely no trademark or logo is accepted excepted with Property Release. It would suit you not to include logos or trademarks even if you could get property release for them since they restrict the sales of your image. Therefore in essence, no logo, no trademark or anything other identifying marks. If you take a photo that include logos or trademarks, use your photo editor to remove them. With regards the city/state info, I will ask MatHayward​ to fill in any details I have left out, since at my location and the subject area of my photos does not include many of those exclusion.

Regards

JG

[MikeMarris]

Hi Jacquelin,

I'm sorry but I'm not talking about logos. I was using the organisation Lego as an example.

Some IPs have a particular country listed in the "country" column (see the 14th row under "Design IP"). However, others say "World" (see 9th row). I would like to know what the "country" column refers to. Does it refer to:

1. the origin of the IP  (i.e. the copyright/trademark originated from Denmark.). However, if this is the case, it seems strange for an origin to be "World".

OR

2. the location restrictions for the IP? (i.e. looking at Row 14, photos with Lego cannot be used in Denmark but can be used somewhere else). However, this begs another question. Looking at Row 9, I see "World" for Lego. So is Lego restricted in Denmark or the entire world?

[jacquelingphoto2017]

Hi Mike

In the country column where you see the name of a country, it is indicating the country where the restricted structure/company is based. In reference to your example, Lego; Lego Group is a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. What I understand from that restriction is, the only thing that is acceptable from/or connected to the company, is the building blocks provided there is no visible trademark or logos. Everything else is unacceptable.

In terms of the world, again using your example batmobile; batmobile design (the fictitious bat-shaped car) is a trademark and is deemed accessible worldwide and so can be captured by artists from anywhere in the world. No matter where in the world the image is produced, it is not acceptable.

In my opinion the columns City, Country, State/Province, and Rights Holder, are basically additional information and probably serve the purpose for acquiring Property Releases if possible, otherwise our main focus should be on columns Name, Commercial, and Notes.

I hope this answers your question

Regards

JG