The licence enquiry
An enquiry about a photograph on your website: where it came from, and whether you hold a licence for it. It names no sum.
What the letter is
From the licence enquiryAt this stage, this is an information-gathering enquiry. 79 Pixels, Inc. is seeking to confirm the source of the image and the licensing position before determining whether any further action is required.
The letter names the photographer, the photograph and the web page where we found it, and explains our role:
From the licence enquiry79 Pixels, Inc. is authorised by [the photographer] to correspond concerning licensing, settlement and enforcement administration in relation to the photograph. [name of the rights holder] is the rights holder.
Why a Creative Commons photograph
Many of the photographs we act for are also published on Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons licence. The letter explains why that matters:
From the licence enquiryThe photograph appears to have been made available under a Creative Commons licence. Such a licence permits reuse, including commercial reuse, but only on the conditions set out in the licence.
Those conditions may include crediting the photographer, naming and linking the licence, and linking to the source where reasonably practicable. Creative Commons: free, with conditions explains them.
What it asks
From the licence enquiryPlease provide the following, so far as you are able:
- The source of the photograph, for example a staff member, agency, contractor, CMS image library, stock provider, Wikimedia Commons or another website.
- Any licence, invoice, written permission, email permission, CMS record, contractor record or other document that you say authorised the use.
- The date the photograph was first uploaded or published on your website.
- Whether the photograph appears elsewhere on your domain, subdomains, social media, PDFs, brochures, newsletters or other materials under your control.
- The name and contact details of the person, department, supplier, agency or contractor responsible for sourcing or uploading the photograph, if known.
What helps us most, question by question:
| No. | A useful answer |
|---|---|
| 1 | Where the file came from and who added it, as far as you know. |
| 2 | A copy of any licence, invoice or written permission — for example a stock-site licence, or your contract with the designer who built the site. |
| 3 | The date, if your website’s content system or records show it. |
| 4 | Any other pages, PDFs, newsletters or social media posts where the same photograph appears. |
| 5 | Who sourced or uploaded it — a member of staff, an agency or a contractor — if you know. |
Letters to the United States and Canada are headed “License Inquiry” or “Licence Inquiry” and ask the same questions. Some letters ask them in a single sentence: the source of the photograph, any licence or permission you rely on, when it was first published on your website, and whether it appears elsewhere under your control.
The evidence dossier
From the licence enquiryAn evidence dossier is attached for reference. It includes the source record available to us, the applicable Creative Commons licence information and screenshots of the page or pages where the photograph was found.
Keep your records
From the licence enquiryPlease also preserve all relevant records, invoices, correspondence, upload logs, CMS records, image files, metadata, analytics and licensing information relating to this use.
If you hold a licence, or have removed the photograph
If you hold a licence — from the photographer, an agency or a stock library — send it. If it covers the use, we close the case and confirm it in writing.
If you have removed the photograph, tell us the date, and please still answer the questions: removing it stops the use going forward, but the enquiry is about the use that has already happened.
What happens next
From the licence enquiryPlease respond within 14 days. Once we have your response, we can confirm next steps and, if required, discuss a commercial resolution for past use.
Where no valid licence is shown, our next letter is a settlement proposal: it proposes a sum to resolve the past use and shows how it is made up. Our standard licence rates are published separately in our rate card.