copyright human-rights
Image license that forbids reselling
<p>If I make an image (sort of logo) to give someone for money, and I allow them to use it publicly etc but with only one restriction, to resell it. Is there a name for such a license?</p>

<p>Image sales and image copyright are two <strong>completely separate</strong> matters.</p>

<p>Image (graphics) are customarily sold under 3 licenses:</p>

<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royalty-free" rel="nofollow">Royalty Free</a></strong> Licenses allow the buyer to use the image with some general restrictions. The large aspect of royalty free images are that the buyer doesn't pay for each and every use of the image. But often there are restrictions on <em>how</em> the image can be used -- for example the image can't be resold or used in print-on-demand items (t-shirts, mugs, mousepads, etc). While there are some variations, <em>most</em> of the "micro-stock" web sites which sell images operate under a basic royalty free license. In Royalty-free sales, the <strong>copyright remains with the artist.</strong></li>
<li><p><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rights_Managed" rel="nofollow">Rights Managed</a></strong> Licenses are used to limit not only <em>how</em> an image can be used, but also <em>where and how often</em> the image can be used. With a rights managed image the buyer pays for a <em>specific</em> use case - for example, the buyer pays to use the image one time in a magazine to be published in July 2016. Any other use of the image is not permitted. Prior to the 1990s this was customarily how a great deal of stock photography was sold. With the proliferation of micro-stock sites and their royalty-free structure, rights managed sales have dropped off. They are still possible though. Often the micro-stock sites refer to these as "exclusive" images or sales -- meaning only you, the buyer, will be permitted to use the image for a period of time. In rights managed sales, the <strong>copyright remains with the artist.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>Unlimited Rights</strong> is the third option. This is pretty self explanatory. The artist sells <em>all</em> right to the image to the buyer and has no further claim on the image at any time. This structure is <em>often</em> the <em>only viable</em> solution for images such as a logotype. <strong>Anyone buying a logo and <em>not</em> getting unlimited rights to the artwork is, frankly, being taken advantage of.</strong> Logos shouldn't have <em>any</em> restrictions on use. In unlimited rights sales, the <strong>copyright is sold to the buyer.</strong> The artist <em>relinquishes all rights</em>.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Under these three basic tenants, there are other possible license structures. The <strong><em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons_license" rel="nofollow">Creative Commons License</a></em></strong> structures are designed to apply licenses to images which aren't necessarily being sold, but are being made available for reuse by the artists/creator.</p>

<p>It is important to realize that <strong>any image sales can have any restrictions desired</strong>. It is all merely a matter of the artist and the buyer <em>agreeing on terms</em> of the sale. If I want to sell an image and require that it never be used on a Tuesday... it's fine as long as the buyer agrees. If the buyer doesn't agree then I don't have to sell the image or they don't have to purchase it.</p>

<p><strong>To specifically answer your question</strong> -- no, there is no specific name for a license which only prevents resale. That is <em>exactly</em> what <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/" rel="nofollow">copyright</a> is designed to prevent. Without owning the copyright to an image, <strong>no one</strong> is permitted to duplicate or resell the image unless they have an agreement <em>with</em> the copyright holder (license). Customarily all licenses will prevent profiting from resale of copyrighted material. Essentially, a copyright is designed to prevent <em>all use</em> by <em>anyone</em> other than the copyright holder. If specific use has <em>not</em> been granted, then it is not permitted. The assumption is "Not allowed" first... then an agreement (license) can alter that.</p>

<p>However, if you are selling a logo is it <strong>bad practice</strong> to prevent the buyer from doing <em>anything</em> with a logo. As a logo the company the logo represents <strong>must</strong> be free and clear to use the logo in <strong>any</strong> way they need. Putting restrictions on logos is one <em>sure way</em> to whittle down any client base you may have. In addition....</p>

<p>If you think logically about this..... if the image is a <strong>logo</strong>... why would a company dilute their <em>own brand</em> by reselling their logo? It wouldn't make sense. If you are referring to things such as selling t-shirts with the logo artwork on them..... you should <strong>not</strong> be seeking to restrict such use for a <strong>logo</strong>. To be blunt -- that is <em>not</em> how logo sales are handled. Other images, sure, but not logos.</p>

<p>The most important question would be whether this is a "work for hire". Under <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html" rel="nofollow">US copyright law</a>, such a designation is applicable if as an employee you create the work within the scope of your employment (possibly not applicable here) or it is specially commissioned for certain purposes provided that "parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire". If the item is a work for hire, the person for whom the work is created holds initial copyright, which means they can do anything they want. Therefore to impose restrictions on what they can do, the creator must <em>not</em> let the thing be a "work for hire".</p>

<p><a href="http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ09.pdf" rel="nofollow">This document</a>, under "Agency Law", summarizes the relevant considerations for determining if you are an "employee". If you are not an employee, then the agreement would have to expressly agree that it is a work for hire, and a good way to avoid expressly agreeing to X is to expressly deny X. That means that you retain copyright, but you allow them to use the work in certain ways, which you spell out in a license agreement. You would probably need an attorney to craft such an agreement, since it is not at all clear what you want to allows vs. prohibit. My guess is that you intend to allow them to sell objects e.g. screwdrivers containing the logo, but they are not allowed to sell their license to someone else (i.e. this is a non-transferable license). But maybe you mean that they can sell copies of the image, just not the original artwork (which they would be in physical possession of). </p>
