I recently received this request to use one of my photos. This is an excerpt from the request: We’re not a commercial magazine (we print only 1,500 copies of each issue and we don’t feature any advertising) so I’m afraid we can’t really offer a fee, but we’ll give you full credit of course and if you let me know your address, I’ll make sure you receive a copy once printed. I searched the web for references to the magazine and it appears to be legit. The blurb on the web page says it is a new platform for thoughts on culture and society, that also happens to be a type specimen. The term type specimen is where I start to have problems. According to the web site, it is created by a company that sells character fonts. To me, that sounds like the magazine is definitely commercial and is basically an advertisement for their products. Continuing to research, I found an interview with the magazine's editor. In it, he talks about the challenge of filling the magazine with license-free imagery. Do I give these people free use of my photo or not? What would you do?
Tough call - I've had a few low-volume magazines use my photos, but they all paid and signed agreements for usage limits, rights-return date, etc. In your case, I think I'd base some of the decision on whether 1. they will offer a licensing agreement or guarantee of maximum copies that can be used and/or a return of rights for the photo to you after a period of time, 2. what the photo is - ie: is it one you may find yourself wanting to use again, sell, or post? 3. Will they offer a usage contract where you don't pass the rights of the photo - you can still use it as you wish, but they can also use it in their publication with proper credit.
Thanks for your input, Justin. Option 3 is very close to what I would consider - one issue of the magazine, no internet reproduction rights, etc. I'll take that into consideration.
Just to close this out, I offered the magazine a one-time limiited use no-charge license. They never replied. What happened to simple courtesy?
