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
14/01/2026
Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 2 - New Options for Virtual MixingA variety of solutions offer both technical and economic benefitsBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
...
14/01/2026
Tech Focus: Audio Consoles, Part 1 - Key Component Evolves Toward the Totally Vi...
14/01/2026
SVG Summit 2025: Audio from Monday Workshops Now AvailableListen to sessions from Live Production Innovation, AI Production Tools, Cloud Production, Content Wor...
14/01/2026
The L3Harris large T7 robotic systems will provide U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines wi...
14/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
14/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
14/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
14/01/2026
January 14th, 2026
TRIBECA ANNOUNCES BEST NEW YORK SHORT AWARD FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL
In Celebration of Its 25th Anniversary, Tribeca Introduces a N...
14/01/2026
Back to All News
State of Fear, The First Spin-Off of a Netflix Brazil Producti...
13/01/2026
NHL Situation Room 2.0: How Sony Hawk-Eye Powers Centralized Officiating, Player...
13/01/2026
NBC Sports Ices the Audio for the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championship...
13/01/2026
DMF and MXL in practice: Which vendors are adopting it, and how fast is the ecos...
13/01/2026
CES 2026: Five Important Sports-Tech BuzzwordsThe terms highlight innovations for sports production at the showBy Daniel Frankel, SVG Contributor
Tuesday, Jan...
13/01/2026
For TGL Season 2, Unity 6 Boosts Virtual-Graphic Quality; COSM 360 Cameras Impro...
13/01/2026
Resetting Expectations? The State of the Sports Industry with Devoncroft's J...
13/01/2026
Top Row L-R: Ana Katz, Natalia Almada, Bao Nguyen, Tatiana Maslany, A.V. Rockwell, Dr. Heather Berlin
Second Row L-R: Sophie Barthes, Azazel Jacobs, Janicza Br...
13/01/2026
DoW to invest $1B in planned independently traded Missile Solutions business...
13/01/2026
L3Harris Chairman and CEO Christopher Kubasik and Under Secretary of War for Acq...
13/01/2026
Singapore - January 13, 2026 - Nielsen today announced the appointment of Matty Lin to its Commercial Organization as APAC regional sales leader.
Based in Sing...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Nine-week performance series brings music, dance, theatre, and storytelling to downtown Durham, January - March 2026 (Durham, NC) The Chamber Orchestra of the T...
13/01/2026
Berklee Launches AIMS, an Artist-Centered Summit on Music and AI Hosted by the Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab (BEATL), the event will focus on the i...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
13/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Confirms Production of The Dealer,' a High-Stakes...
13/01/2026
Back to All News
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis to Compose Original Score for Jo Nesb...
13/01/2026
NVIDIA and Lilly are putting together a blueprint for what is possible in the f...
13/01/2026
viztrick AiDi, Provided by Nippon TV and FOR-A, Powers Automatic 9:16 Cropping with Auto-Tracking and Intuitive Operation for Dynamic Streaming Content
Targ...
12/01/2026
Sports and Music Unite: A Look Back at the Operationally Ambitious FIFA Club Wor...
12/01/2026
Nielsen Panel Discussion Highlights World Cup Impact for FOX, Telemundo, MetLife...
12/01/2026
FIFA President Infantino Highlights How AI Will Impact 2026 FIFA World Cup and B...
12/01/2026
Baltimore Ravens' Jack Dana on Telling a Better Story With Media Management ...
12/01/2026
FOX Sports' Brad Cheney on Spectrum Debate's Impact on the Sports-Produc...
12/01/2026
Australia and New Zealand VP Alan Clements shares L3Harris' leadership insig...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Berklee International Folk Festival Celebrates 40 Years Featuring Grammy-winning alumna Arooj Aftab, the milestone concert and weeklong festival marks four de...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
Kento Nakajima To Star in Netflix Manga Adaptation S&X', ...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Celebrates Partnership and Progress at Fort Monmouth Closing Ceremony
Governor Phil Murphy, Netflix co-CEO, and Governor-elect Mikie ...
12/01/2026
Back to All News
WWE By the Numbers: Celebrating One Year on Netflix
From left to right: Rey Mysterio, Intercontinental Champion John Cena and Sheamus celebr...
10/01/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
10/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
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. 
