Here's the skinny on stock media licensing: there are a lot of license options out there, and the details can quickly get confusing. From Creative Commons to royalty-free, the different levels of licensing provide a vast array of protection to the people that download and use media.
But as a company using a stock media API, why would you care about correctly licensing the stock media you push through your platform? All you're doing is providing content to your end-users, not using stock media for your marketing or promotional material.
At the end of the day, licensing matters to everyone, even your company. By understanding the different types of licenses available, you're setting your end-users up for success and ensuring a better user experience. That's a win for them and a win for you (hello, brand loyalty).
Common License Types So, what's the scoop on different license types? Let us break it down for you.
Creative Commons (CC) Set-up to create easy-to-understand terms; this public copyright license gives end-users the ability to use images, video, or audio for non-commercial or non-monetized purposes. Customers must provide attribution to the creator of the media, and no edits can be made to the asset. Creation purposes and distribution of the stock content is also very limited.
Creative Commons Zero (CC0) A no rights reserved license, CC0 allows end-users to use creative content with no attribution to the creator. This effectively puts the stock asset into the public domain and can be used and distributed in any way.
Royalty-Free (RF) A popular license type, RF gives the ability to an individual to pay a flat fee for the asset with no royalties due to the content creator. You can use the content almost anywhere, through most channels (though some RF licenses set limitations). Often, you can provide this feature as an add-on in your platform (e.g., buy this clip for $1.99).
One thing to remember, if your end-user is an employee of a company, the rights for that asset don't lie with the company, they belong to the individual who purchased the content. This can get tricky if the employee leaves or if the distribution of the created asset goes beyond the scope of license coverage.
Extended/Enhanced Use This license goes beyond standard RF licensing terms by extending the ways end-users can use, distribute, and sell the content. When they buy stock content under Extended/Enhanced Use, they're getting more rights than any other mass license (the upgrade is a custom license that can get incredibly expensive and complex.) This license gives coverage to the company, not an individual, so customers can feel comfortable about distributing that content through whatever channel they want.
Why Licensing Matters The common element among licensing is general risk and liability; it outlines what's covered to help you or your end-users if any legal issues were to arise. When it comes to your platform, licensing can either improve or destroy your customer's experience.
With CC or CC0 licensing, end-users are often not covered to distribute images for commercial purposes - like if they download stock content with a model or likeness of a person, CC and CC0 often don't have the proper releases for it to be used for anything other than editorial purposes. Issues that arise from using CC or CC0 can lead to cease and desist letters, liabilities, and hefty indemnification fees, things that your customers aren't anticipating. This stress and confusion can lead to distrust of your platform, effectively hurting your relationship with end-users (goodbye, brand loyalty).
Through RF or Extended Licenses, your end-users are better covered; they're buying the rights to use that image in a full capacity. The downside to providing an RF purchase option in your platform is that it leads to a disjointed customer experience. They've already subscribed to your platform but have to stop their workflow to purchase the image, video, or audio clips they want. Extended licensing takes care of this disruption by giving the proper licensing across all stock content from a specific provider (simplified workflow, happier customers.)
Licensing with Storyblocks When you partner with Storyblocks, you can let go of licensing worries. We take care of that for you with our Extended License. It ensures that your end-users can create whatever they want and use it in whatever manner they choose. Give your customers the peace of mind to create with ease on your platform and learn more about Storyblocks Enterprise and our API options today.
Learn More
North America Stories
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
23/07/2026
David Dvir, 2D founder (left), Sundeep Reddy (center), and Jean-Marc Bouchut (right), both of Zeiss...
23/07/2026
Lock in and load up the cloud. GFN Thursday brings fresh updates and new adventu...
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang today visited the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, to commission an NVIDIA DGX GB300 system - bringing one...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
Here's the skinny on stock media licensing: there are a lot of license options out there, and the details can quickly get confusing. From Creative Commons to royalty-free, the different levels of licensing provide a vast array of protection to the people that download and use media. 
