Rights and retention
Photo Usage License Delivered With the Gallery: Where It Goes and What It Says
A usage licence that arrives in a separate email gets filed and forgotten. Put it on the page the client downloads from, in words they can act on, and keep a copy they can save.
Updated 30 September 2026
A usage licence tells the client what they may do with the photos: which media, where, for how long, and with what credit. It belongs in the handoff itself, beside the download button, because that is the moment the client starts using the files.
This guide covers what a licence usually contains, what copyright law says about it in Canada and the United States, where a licence can live inside a clientgallery.io gallery, and plain wording you can adapt. The product spells it "licence"; the US spelling is "license". Same document.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Copyright rules differ by country. Have a lawyer where you work review any licence before you rely on it.
Why the licence belongs in the gallery
Most usage disputes are not bad faith. A client posts a portrait in a paid ad because nobody told them the session covered personal use only.
The contract may say it, but the contract was signed months earlier. The gallery is open on the client's screen on the day they download.
So the licence should sit where the files are: readable on the page, downloadable as a file, with the credit line ready to copy.
What a usage licence covers
A short licence answers eight questions. Leave one out and the client will answer it for themselves.
| Element | The question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Parties and photos | Who is licensing what? | The studio, the client, the photos delivered on a date |
| Grant | Personal or business use? Exclusive or not? | Non-exclusive, non-transferable, business promotion |
| Media | Where may the photos appear? | Website, organic social posts, newsletters |
| Territory and term | Where, and for how long? | Canada, two years from full payment |
| Not included | What needs a new conversation? | Print, paid ads, resale, stock sites |
| Credit | How is the photographer named? | "Photo: Studio name" plus a social handle |
| Payment | When does the licence start? | On payment of the invoice in full |
| Copyright | Who still owns the photos? | The studio keeps copyright; this is a right of use |
Most studios settle on three levels and reuse them. The clientgallery.io starting templates use the same three.
| Level | Typical client | Covers | Excludes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal use | Families, couples, portraits | Prints, albums, gifts, personal social accounts | Any commercial use, including a vendor or venue promoting itself |
| Commercial, web and social | Small businesses, headshots, brand sessions | Own website, organic social, newsletters, presentations | Print, broadcast, outdoor and paid advertising |
| Full commercial | Product, campaign and corporate work | All media, print and digital, including paid ads and packaging | Exclusivity, unless agreed in writing |
What copyright law says, briefly
The starting point in both countries is the same: the author owns the copyright first. A licence is how the owner lets someone else use the work.
| Rule | Canada (Copyright Act) | United States (Title 17) |
|---|---|---|
| First owner | The author, subject to the Act, section 13(1) | The author, section 201(a); for a work made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared, section 201(b) |
| Written form | An assignment or a licence granting an interest is valid only in writing signed by the owner, section 13(4) | A transfer of ownership needs a signed writing, section 204(a); a nonexclusive license is not a transfer, section 101 |
| Commissioned personal photos | An individual who paid for a photo for personal purposes may use it for private or non-commercial purposes, unless agreed otherwise, section 32.2(1)(f) | No equivalent rule on the pages cited here |
Two practical points follow. A written licence the client can keep is the safer habit in both countries. And in Canada, a family who paid for a session already has a personal-use right by statute, unless your contract says otherwise, so the licence matters most where business use begins.
Other countries have their own rules. The work-made-for-hire definition in the United States is narrow and technical. Ask a lawyer before you rely on either point.
Where the licence can live in a clientgallery.io gallery
We checked every place a studio can put text or a file in front of the client, in the product code on 30 September 2026. There are four that work for a licence, and one thing that does not exist.
| Place | What the client sees | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Usage licence section on the Delivery page | The full licence text, a credit line with a Copy button, and a Download licence PDF button | Only on galleries with a client attached, at the Delivery stage |
| Welcome note | Short text under the gallery title, or a welcome card that opens once and stays one tap away | Best for a short summary |
| Invoice PDF | A button to download your invoice | One PDF per gallery, presented as the invoice, so put licence terms on the invoice itself rather than uploading a licence alone |
| Inside the full-resolution ZIP | Whatever you pack into the ZIP, such as a licence PDF next to the photos | The ZIP stays live for 3 days per handoff and can be re-uploaded |
| A Terms or accept step | Does not exist | There is no per-studio Terms page and no click-to-accept before download |
There is also no separate gallery description field. The welcome note is the text field for that job.
Setting up the Usage licence section
On a gallery with a client attached, the Delivery stage has a licence module. This is the route that puts the licence on the page and in a PDF at the same time.
- Start from a template: Personal use; Commercial, web and social; or Full commercial. You can also save your own wording as a template and make it your default.
- Fill the variables: term, territory, governing jurisdiction and your social handle. The client name, studio name, date and year fill in from the gallery.
- Set the credit line, for example "Photo: {studio}".
- Save the licence and keep it switched to show on the client page.
Three details from the code are worth knowing before you send the link.
- The date placeholder fills with the date the gallery was created, not the delivery date. If the dates differ, write the delivery date into the text.
- A placeholder with no value prints as written, braces included. Check the client view before you send it.
- Each licence PDF download is logged, and the client page says downloads are logged for the photographer.
The templates are marked on the client page as a starting point, not legal advice. Edit them to match your contract.
Plain wording for the welcome note
When a gallery has no client attached, or the full licence lives in your contract, a short summary in the welcome note does the job. Keep it to what the client needs on the day.
These photos are licensed to you for [personal use / use on your own website and social accounts] in [territory] for [term], once the invoice is paid in full. Print, paid advertising and resale are not included; ask me first. Please credit "Photo: [Studio]" and tag [handle] when you post. [Studio] keeps the copyright. The full terms are in [your contract / the PDF in your download].
For a credit line, one sentence the client can paste is enough: "Photo: [Studio], used with permission."
One formatting note. The classic welcome note field is plain text rendered as a web page, so separate lines can run together. Keep the summary to one paragraph and put the long version in a PDF.
What the product does not do
- It does not ask the client to accept or sign the licence.
- It does not enforce the licence or track where photos are published.
- It does not email the client. You send the gallery link yourself; the studio has ready-to-copy messages for that.
- A section's standalone share link is view-only and does not carry the Delivery page or its licence section. A venue or vendor you send a section link to needs its own usage note, as in sharing wedding photos with the venue.
If you need signed acceptance on every delivery, use your contract or e-signature tool for that step and keep the gallery as the place the terms are visible. The contract side is covered in photography contract clauses for gallery delivery, and commercial handoffs in a client gallery for commercial photographers.
Sources
Legal points come from official government sources, fetched 30 September 2026. They are cited as general information, not legal advice.
- Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42), section 13, Justice Laws Website, current to 21 September 2026, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/section-13.html, fetched 30 September 2026
- Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42), section 32.2, Justice Laws Website, current to 21 September 2026, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/section-32.2.html, fetched 30 September 2026
- Chapter 2, Copyright Ownership and Transfer (17 U.S.C. 201, 204), U.S. Copyright Office, https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap2.html, fetched 30 September 2026
- Chapter 1, Definitions (17 U.S.C. 101, "transfer of copyright ownership"), U.S. Copyright Office, https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html, fetched 30 September 2026
- clientgallery.io product behaviour (Usage licence section with three starting templates, variables, credit line and PDF on the Delivery page of galleries with a client; date placeholder uses the gallery creation date; unfilled placeholders print as written; logged licence downloads; the welcome note as short text or a welcome card; one invoice PDF per gallery; full-resolution ZIP live 3 days per handoff; no Terms page, accept step or client email; section links view-only), checked in the code on 30 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
Should a usage licence be delivered with the photos?
Yes, in practice. The contract is signed months earlier, but the gallery is open on the day the client starts using the files. Put the licence, or a short summary with the credit line, on the page they download from, and give them a copy they can save.
Does a photo licence have to be in writing?
In Canada, section 13(4) of the Copyright Act says an assignment or a licence granting an interest is valid only in writing signed by the owner. In the United States, a transfer of ownership needs a signed writing, and a nonexclusive license is not a transfer under section 101. Rules differ elsewhere, so ask a lawyer. A written licence the client can keep is the safer habit either way.
Who owns the copyright in photos a client paid for?
In both Canada and the United States the author is the first owner, with a US exception for works made for hire. In Canada, an individual who commissioned photos for personal purposes may use them for private or non-commercial purposes unless agreed otherwise, under section 32.2(1)(f). This is general information, not legal advice.
Can clientgallery.io show a usage licence to my client?
Yes. On a gallery with a client attached, the Delivery page has a Usage licence section with the full text, a credit line the client can copy, and a licence PDF to download. It starts from three templates you can edit. On other galleries, a short summary in the welcome note is the route.
Can the client be made to accept the licence before downloading?
Not in clientgallery.io. There is no click-to-accept step and no per-studio Terms page. If you need a signature, get it in your contract or an e-signature tool, and use the gallery to keep the terms visible.
What should a photo credit line say?
Short and pasteable: "Photo: Studio name" or "© year Studio name", placed next to the photo or in the caption, plus your social handle where the client posts. The Usage licence section shows the credit line with a Copy button.
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