This site features the new, standard agreement for Corbis photographers. In developing it, we focused on how to offer you, our photographers, access to a broader variety of markets, more creative opportunities in the digital model, and increased protection for your work in this environment. We also wanted a contract that would enable clients to get more of their photographic needs met from a single agency by offering such clients easier ways of working with us. As a result, we have created an agreement that represents significantly new thinking about the photographer-agency relationship in the digital age.

There are many reasons for developing and presenting this contract now. Existing contracts in some divisions do not address digital issues. Others are not in alignment with industry trends. We all will benefit from a more unified approach—photographers working with different divisions will have more consistency and fairness, and the agency will enjoy fewer risks and costs of managing hundreds of different contract terms.

We were also determined not to lower our overall royalty rates in this new contract. In fact, we are bucking recent industry trends by offering a rate structure that increases our overall royalty expenses. The resulting contract is fair to both parties and compares very favorably to competing contracts. Since representing the best photographers in the world is central to our success, we believe a leading, photographer-friendly contract will foster a stronger relationship with our photographers, a stronger proposition for clients, and a stronger agency.

50% for editorial uses

45% for commercial uses

20% for broad rights (royalty-free)

20% for consumer digital products

5% for merchandise (prints, posters, etc.)