5.4.4. Reproduction of artistic elements (drawings, photographs, etc.)

When creating a publication, copyright issues must be taken into account by the author services.

When creating a publication, copyright issues must be taken into account by the author services. If artistic elements that have been copyrighted by others (third-party copyright) are incorporated, it is crucial to ensure that all the necessary rights to use these elements have been acquired. In any of the above cases, ensure that there is no inconsistency between the mention of reproduction rights of artistic elements in the publication and the rights concerning these elements obtained by the European Union, Euratom or an entity that has legal personality (the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Investment Fund and decentralised organisations).

Elements belonging to the European Union, Euratom or an entity that has legal personality

For all elements acquired through a contract 1 with an external contractor, the author service must ensure that the contract contains a clause granting it the property rights to the elements. In this case, the reproduction rights must be indicated as follows:

Illustration/Photo/etc. page …, © European Union, [year]

Illustration/Photo/etc. page …, © European Atomic Energy Community, [year]

Illustration/Photo/etc. page …, © European Central Bank, [year]

Illustration/Photo/etc. page …, © [name of the agency], [year]

Elements belonging to third parties

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the copyright of the EU, Euratom or an entity that has legal personality, permission must be sought directly for each element from the copyright holder. A copyright notice must be added near each element as described below. Moreover, a general note must be inserted in the liminary pages:

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the copyright of the European Union, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under the copyright of … [name of the entity], permission must be sought directly from the copyright holders.

Elements belonging to an individual person (a third party or a member of staff in a private capacity)

For any element provided by an external person or a member of staff in a private capacity, a licensing contract outlining the conditions of use of the element must be signed. The reproduction rights must be indicated as follows:

Illustration/Photo/etc. page …, © [name of the artist], [year]

Elements from a stock image bank

The proposed licences must be strictly respected. The copyright notice must be indicated as follows:

Creative commons licences

These licences usually require a mention of the site on which the image is located, along with a link allowing anyone to find the image on that site. Use of these images is usually subject to special conditions and should not take place without legal advice.

Right of personal portrayal (people appearing in photographs or videos)

In addition to the contract linking the author service to the author of a photograph or a video, the people appearing in the photograph or video must be taken into account (right of personal portrayal).

The author service must include a clause in the contract with the contractor, or ask the member of staff who took the photograph or recorded the video, to ensure that each person appearing in the photograph or video signs a standard contract authorising the European Union to portray them.

tip:

For any questions, contact the service in charge of copyright at the Publications Office (OP-COPYRIGHT@publications.europa.eu).

Internal link / working document for staff of the European Union institutions.