What is licensing?
An agreement giving certain people permission to reproduce copyright-protected artwork in particular ways is known as a licensing agreement. The agreement may be set up with the artist or creator, their agent, a beneficiary, the representative of an estate, or another copyright holder. Usually this involves a cost.
Licensing explained
People from a range of industries are interested in reproducing unique, original work, and getting permission for this from the copyright holder. Sectors include advertising, publishing, broadcasting, multimedia and merchandising.
How they want to reproduce an image can really vary. Works by artists DACS represents have been licensed for everything from greetings cards and film sets, to websites and silk scarves. Licences we set up are non-exclusive. That means someone else can also set up licensing on the same artwork.
Rights DACS can license
We can license most rights in works by artists we represent and whose works are protected by copyright, as defined under the amended Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
These include:
- making a copy of the work
- distributing copies of the work to the public
- renting or lending copies of the work to the public
- communicating copies of the work to the public
DACS licensing principles
We aim to protect the integrity of artworks by ensuring any licensed use meets the following criteria:
- colour is reproduced as faithfully as possible.
- the artist is credited as the creator of the work.
- the work is not cropped, overprinted or manipulated without the artist or estate's prior approval.
- the title of the work is cited accurately.
- the work is reproduced in its entirety.
- the work is not subjected to any derogatory treatment.
Earn through licensing your work
We can handle the negotiations and licensing process, protect your rights, and collect royalties for you. DACS streamlines the set-up of licensing agreements, and represents over 90,000 artists.
We're often a picture editor’s first thought when they need artistic copyright clearance. Find out about working with DACS to license your work, or work you own the copyright to.