Use of Adobe Stock Photo on Book/E-book Cover

[Ricky Leone]

Hello,

I was reading this Adobe article here: Adobe Stock known issues and limitations

And regarding the following excerpt, I have a question (answer might be obvious, but would like clarification):

Use of images on book/e-book covers

Use of Stock images on book or e-book covers is allowed if the print run is fewer than 500,000 copies (Adobe Stock limit). Images showing models can't be used in a manner that the models could perceive as offensive. (For example, avoid using images with models on the cover of a steamy romance novel or a book about politics or religion, etc.)

And this excerpt on the Adobe licensing page:

Extended licenses

Extended licenses provide all the rights granted in an Enhanced license, remove the 500,000 copy restriction and allow you to create products for resale.

If you purchase an extended license, that removes the 500,000 limit on books/e-books, correct?  And also, are you allowed to modify the stock photo (IE: color correction, resizing, retouching of photo, etc)?

Thanks!

RTL

[spsb84]

Hi RTL,

You might need to have a look on this:

http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/legal/servicetou/Adobe_Stock_Terms-en_US-20161015_2200.pdf

Hope this helps.

Thanks

Simar

[Ricky Leone]

Thanks for the PDF, Simar.

I would still like Adobe to clarify this further, as although the Terms and Conditions seem to imply that it is okay to use a stock photo on a book/e-book cover which may sell over 500,000 copies on an Extended License (and I'm not a lawyer, so my interpretation of the legal jargon could be incorrect), the language in the original article (Use of images on book/e-book covers) I posted seems to specifically exclude any mention of the Extended License when it comes to book/e-book covers, but just gives a generalized statement that Adobe Stock Photos cannot be used on more than 500,000 copies regardless of type of license.

That's a bit concerning to me, and I really want to avoid any legal issues later on.

RTL

[spsb84 · Accepted solution]

Yes! your need would require Extended license.

Restriction of print to 500,000 copies is for Standard license.

Hope this helps.

[Ricky Leone]

Alrighty—thank you for clarifying on behalf of Adobe.  I would also suggest that it be clarified on the Adobe Stock known issues and limitations that the 500,000 limit would be removed for books/e-books if an Extended License is purchased.  Can you help regarding the issue of modification?  It seems like that's okay, but would really love clarification on that too.  Thanks Simar!

RTL

[spsb84]

Sure!

Thanks for your feedback though.

[keeq88214683]

so, what you are saying is that a picture from adobe stock may be used for a book cover that will be sold for profit? without infringing any rights, is that correct?

[twaritar3263062]

Hi kee quarm,

Adobe Stock pictures can be used for a book cover and extended license allows you to create products for resale provided you follow all the legal terms and restrictions as given in http://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/legal/servicetou/Adobe_Stock_Terms-en_US-20170630_2200.pdf

Also, you may refer to Common Questions, Adobe Stock for more details.

Feel free to update this thread in case of any additional query.

Regards,

Twarita

[Quantum_Entanglement]

Feel free to update this thread in case of any additional query.

Hi. I realize this is an old thread, but if it is permitted, I have a followup question for you:

1. Can Standard License stock images be used in unmodified form on eBook covers/print book covers/inside of eBooks/inside of print books?

2. Are eBooks/print books considered "items of merchandise"? If they are, is the "value" primarily in the book's contents, and would that allow for unmodified use?

3. Is a print/eBook cover an "editorial context" in the license?

4. If the print/eBook cover is considered an "editorial context," is it sufficient to credit Adobe Stock Photo on the book seller webpage, and in the book's "Acknowledgements" section, like so: "© [Photographer's name] /Adobe Stock"? (based on your other answer here: Can Adobe Stock Photos be used for Book Covers? )

Thank you!

[Abambo]

A standard license would do it for you as long as the run is less than 500k copies, as specified. As e-books are considered as books, you should combine both, the print run and the estimated download run.

”Products for resale” are posters, t-shirts, calendars etc, where the primary value of the product is the image and not the nude product. This would be the case if you would publish a photo book with stock images... 🙂

As the primary value of a book is normally the content...I see no need for an extended license except if you write a bestseller...

[Quantum_Entanglement]

Thank you for all your helpful replies!

So, here is what I was thinking of doing:

- Purchasing a Standard License image

- Using it unmodified as the cover for an eBook/print book

- Crediting the cover image on the seller page and in the book's acknowledgements (near front of book)

- If I ever did get close to 500k combined downloads and print sales in total, I'll upgrade the license

So it sounds like this plan would conform with the Standard License? And in this case, since the image on the cover is not the "value" of the book (it's a non-fiction book, not a photo book), it should be totally compliant, right?

Thank you!

[twaritar3263062]

Hi there,

As Abambo has already mentioned in his above post a standard license will be okay for your requirement, as long as the print run is less than 500,000 copies and the primary value of the book is not the Adobe Stock image.

For more information on the licensing terms and restrictions, please refer to Stock Licensing & terms FAQ: Where can I find the terms and licensing information for Adobe Stock?

Feel free to update this thread in case of any additional questions.

Regards,

Twarita

[Seidenkralle]

Hello,

I have a few similar questions and from the terms and FAQ I found it difficult to understand what the answer is.

If I use several images from Adobe Stock to create a book cover, but the central image of the cover would be an own illustration, would I still need to give credit when only owning the standard licence?

The Adobe stock images I am talking about are a background (it is a canvas texture kind of photo) and vintage frames in which text or own illustrations will be included.

Also if I use an Adobe stock vintage frame photo as part of the cover could the same frame be altered and used to frame titles or illustrations within the book? Would I need to get the extended licence in this case?

And if I bring out the second book in a series with a similar cover and the same images included as in the first book, but the first book did not sell more than 500000 copies, would I need to repurchase the standard licence?

Sorry for all these questions and thank you for your time,

Rebecca

[Abambo]

Hi Rebecca,

You have a special pseudo that let’s me think your book would be fantasy or similar...

My answers:

Q1: As long as you modify the images enough so that the combined image represents an artwork on it’s own, you do not need to credit, especially as the main attraction of the cover would be your own illustration.

Q2: no, the frame is not the main value for the buyer to buy the book. But you would need to pay attention to the copy run. Using an artwork on 100 pages for a total run of 5000 would accumulate to 500k.

Q3: It’s the total run that should not exceed those 500k. As long as you stay under that magic limit, you are good with a standard license. If you are above 500k of sold copies, you could pay for a hundred of those licenses. So go ahead...

[Seidenkralle]

Hi,

yes it is a fantasy book. Thank you so much for your quick reply and for answering all of my questions! It's a real relieve to hear that the standard licence is enough and I did not at all think about taking into account on how many pages the artwork would be to calculate the total copy run, so thanks for clearing that up! It all makes a lot of sense now. Thank you for your help!

[Abambo]

Gern geschehen! Immer wieder... und viel Glück mit dem Buch. Das 500.000te Exemplar darfst Du mir dann signiert zuschicken...

[ahdees38018931]

thank you for this informative post, if i have a book or ebook (would there be a difference) and next to the page number i put a small swigle i got from a picture downloaded from adobe stock, but the swigle is maybe 2% of the original picture. and there were 50 pages in the book i would not be able to print more than 10,000 (bless me i should get to that number) or because it is only a small percent of the original picture and is only used as an embellishment of the page then the standard license is good?  also would i need to give credit for that ie: small swigle adobe stock?

[lorrainepetty]

I want to use an image for the cover of my book but want to scale it up so that only a half of the image is shown on the book cover is this still covered by a standard license?