Licensing working dog images

Describe the use

Specify where the image will appear, whether it will be cropped or edited and whether advertising is involved. Ask who can grant the necessary permission rather than assuming the uploader owns the rights.

Keep the agreement

Retain the permission, credit wording and any time or platform limits. Photograph ownership, property access and consent from people depicted may require separate consideration.

Handle archive material carefully

The National Library explains that rights vary across collection images. Follow the individual record and request guidance where needed; age or an old-looking scan is not a rights assessment.

Keep an asset register listing the agreed credit and permitted channels. Review it when an image is reused in a different campaign, because a previous publication does not establish permission for every later use.

Separate rights from file supply

An image file can be supplied at high resolution without permission for every use. Conversely, a permitted use may still require an appropriate reproduction file or a specific credit. Ask what the agreement allows, whether changes are permitted and whether another organisation can receive or reuse the file. For archival photographs, read the individual record and relevant institutional process rather than applying a blanket assumption to an entire collection. Keep the permission correspondence available to future editors so a later redesign does not unknowingly expand the use.

Common questions

Sources & further reading

References for this guide. Rules and services can change; check the responsible organisation for current details.

• National Library of Australia: Picture collection rights (opens in a new tab)
• Australian Copyright Council: Photography and copyright (opens in a new tab)

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