Licensing
What you may do with a photograph once it is yours, and what you may not. In plain words first; the contract that says so underneath.
Updated August 26, 2026
You buy the use, not the photograph
When you acquire a photograph from Fotolocals you obtain the right to use it, not its ownership. The image always remains its author’s, Fotolocals, and always stays part of the archive.
All our licences are non-exclusive: the same photograph may be licensed to several people. That is what keeps the archive alive and sustainable. Fotolocals does not offer exclusivity.
Digital use and physical use
This is the distinction everything else follows from.
Digital use
The photograph on a screen: your website, your social channels, your newsletters and your digital communication. The file goes up to 2048 px on the long side.
Physical use
The photograph in print, on any medium. Printing is not included in digital use: it is a separate product, in high resolution.
Put simply: a screen is one thing and paper is another.
Your own use and use for a client
The second question: whose brand is the one wearing the image.
Your own use
You use the photograph for yourself or for your own brand, activity or company.
Use for a client
You use the photograph in a client’s project — the case of designers, agencies and professionals who produce for others. Each photograph is then licensed separately and in the final client’s name. One photo, one client, one licence.
The rule is simple: the licence belongs to the brand that wears the image, not to whoever produces it. An employee or a collaborator working for your brand is covered by your licence; but if you are producing for a client, that use is licensed in that client’s name.
What you may and may not do
Under any of the licences above, and always within the kind of use you bought.
What you may do
- Publish the photograph on your website, on your social channels and in your communication, according to your kind of use.
- Adjust the format or the crop so it fits your layout, as long as you do not change the meaning of the image.
What you may not do
- Resell, transfer or redistribute the file, or pass it on to somebody else.
- Use the digital resolution to print: 2048 px on the long side does not get you there, and printing needs the high-resolution file.
- Use it in paid advertising or amplified campaigns: that is a separate commission.
- Incorporate it into a logo or a trademark, or use it in merchandising or products for sale.
- Alter the image to the point of changing its meaning, or imply a connection with Fotolocals that does not exist.
When you have to credit the author
It depends on how you are using the photograph.
It is required
When the photograph is the work itself: a book, a publication, an exhibition or a print. The author’s name, Fotolocals, must then appear visibly next to the work, in its caption or on its label. Mentioning Fotolocals is optional.
It is not required
When the photograph is used as a resource inside something else: your website’s header, a social post or your communication. No credit is needed there, though it is always appreciated.
In short: if the photograph is the subject, credit the author; if it is there to accompany something else, you do not have to.
The credit format
© FotolocalsNeed something bespoke?
Exclusivity, a shoot of your own, a campaign? That is no longer an archive licence. Write to us and we will talk it through.
Preview
Image licence contract
Please read and review this contract carefully. By downloading and/or using the images that appear on Fotolocals you are bound by all of its terms and conditions. If you do not agree with them, we recommend that you refrain from downloading and/or using any image.
This text is a preview adapted from the image licence contract of eltokina SLU (the Fotolocals project). Should the two differ, the full contract in force at the time of purchase or subscription prevails.
The parties
This is a binding contract between eltokina SLU, holder of the Fotolocals project, and you or the person you represent (hereinafter, “the user”).
If you are acting on behalf of a third party, you declare that you are duly authorised to enter into this contract and you will be jointly and severally liable together with that third party.
- Holder
- eltokina SLU
- NRT
- L-712013-M
- Address
- Carrer de l’Obac 13 AD700 Escaldes - Engordany Principat d’Andorra
Form of the contract and acceptance
The user gives consent electronically through the Fotolocals website, in the manner eltokina SLU indicates at any given time.
eltokina SLU reserves the right to request a signed copy of this contract.
Services and plans
The purpose of Fotolocals is to offer access to and download of digital assets — principally photographs and, where offered, videos — at web resolution and/or high resolution, together with the associated services described on the website.
Virtus (one-off purchase): a web download and, independently of it, a high-resolution download where the photograph allows one. Buying at web resolution does not unlock the high-resolution file and generates no credit against its price.
Unita (monthly patron): a periodic top-up of 18 web downloads a month under the plan in force, carried over up to 54. High resolution is not included.
Fortior (major patron): a private commission with a permanent high-resolution collection and, where stated, 12 months of catalogue access with web downloads under the agreed terms. Activation may be manual once the payment has been validated.
The price, the download volume and the current features of each plan are set out on the website and on the corresponding purchase or subscription order.
Purchase or subscription procedure
The user selects the service, creates or signs in to an account where needed, reviews the order with the price broken down, and authorises payment by the means offered on the platform.
The contract is formed when eltokina SLU confirms the purchase or subscription and issues the invoice. Until then, the information on the website is an invitation to treat and not a binding offer.
Digital files are delivered by making them available in the user’s account and/or by email; the download link sent is valid for 7 days. The user must check on receipt that the service matches the order.
When the licence takes effect
Every licence granted by eltokina SLU is subject to two conditions: that the user complies with this contract, and that payment has been received in full. Failing either extinguishes the licence immediately.
What the licence covers
Web downloads (including Unita’s and Virtus purchases at web resolution): a limited, non-exclusive right of online use — websites, social media and presentations — for the term and scope stated in the purchase confirmation.
High-resolution downloads: a limited, non-exclusive right of online and printed use of the photographs acquired, with no further assignment unless recorded in writing.
Any other exploitation is excluded and requires the prior written authorisation of eltokina SLU and, where applicable, of third-party rights holders.
Licences are neither transferable nor sublicensable unless the invoice states otherwise. The user’s employees and contractors may use the images only to create the final product, and the user is jointly and severally liable for their breaches.
Prohibited uses
It is prohibited to crop, modify or manipulate the images without the written consent of eltokina SLU; to use them for pornographic, political, defamatory or immoral purposes, or purposes contrary to the law, to morality and to accepted standards; and to reproduce them in a logo or trademark, or use them as one, without written consent.
Where people appear in the photograph, use is further restricted in businesses or content related to sex in the broad sense and to political subjects, as well as in large-format prints without specifically negotiating the rights where that applies.
Protection online and credits
If the user puts the images online, they must make their best efforts to protect their integrity and to prevent unauthorised use by third parties.
On every licensed image distributed or communicated publicly, the user will include the copyright notice and credit in the format “© Fotolocals”.
Rights over the images
This contract grants the user no intellectual or industrial property right over the images beyond the limited licences described in it.
Warranties and limitation of liability
eltokina SLU warrants that, used in accordance with this contract, the images will not infringe third-party rights, to the extent of the warranties given by the content providers.
For five (5) days from delivery, eltokina SLU warrants that the digital copy will be free of defects, notwithstanding the visual characteristics inherent to the original. If the user cannot use it because of defects and has not used it, eltokina SLU may replace the copy or refund the amount, at its discretion.
eltokina SLU’s liability for breach of these warranties is limited to ten (10) times the amount actually received for the licence concerned, on the terms of the full contract.
Payment and returns of digital content
The user must pay for every licence obtained. A late-payment surcharge of two per cent (2 %) per month may be applied to unpaid amounts ten (10) days after the due date.
Photographs and digital content are paid for and downloaded at the moment of purchase. As digital products delivered immediately, they cannot be returned once the download is complete — without prejudice to the re-download the platform offers: the link sent by email is valid for 7 days and purchases stay saved in the user’s account forever.
Termination and end of the contract
eltokina SLU may terminate the contract and the licences by written notice if the user breaches its terms, without prejudice to any appropriate legal action.
Once the contract has ended, the user must cease all use of the licensed images and delete copies of them from their files; copies may be kept only within the final products created with them, for archival purposes.
Data protection, jurisdiction and governing law
Personal data is processed on the basis of performing this contract, in accordance with Law 29/2021 of 28 October, qualified law on the protection of personal data, and with the privacy policy published on the website.
This contract is governed by Andorran law. For claims by the user against eltokina SLU, the user submits to the Andorran courts.
Contact
For any communication regarding this licence:
- contacta@fotolocals.com
- Website
- Fotolocals
- Address
- Carrer de l’Obac 13 AD700 Escaldes - Engordany Principat d’Andorra