Sometimes your brokerage or MLS may ask you to get a release form signed for your photos. In recent years, there have been some instances where there have been questions and issues related to copyright of real estate images. This is to prevent any potential disputes arising related to image ownership.
Virtuance can sometimes sign a release form provided to our Client Success team if you need it for your internal records, but the form will need to include the same terms as our Terms of Service here. To make it easy for you, we've included our Ownership and Copyright clauses below!
Ownership
Virtuance solely and exclusively owns all intellectual property and other rights, title and interest in and to the Services and the Site. Virtuance has the sole and exclusive right to obtain trademark and copyright registrations, patents, and other protections in and to the Services and the Site. You do not acquire any right, title or interest in such property under this Agreement, by use or otherwise.
Accordingly, all photos provided to You through the Services of this Site are solely and exclusively owned by Virtuance. As such, Virtuance reserves all rights of ownership including but not limited to the distribution, publication, alteration, sale and duplication of any and all photos provided to You through the Services and this Site for whatever reason in Virtuance sole and absolute discretion. As a User of the Site and Services, upon purchasing and paying in full for the Services received, You are granted a limited, terminable, non-exclusive license to use the photos and other Services provided to You by Virtuance in any legal manner You should choose. You are not, however, granted a license to sell, transfer, license, and sub-license or otherwise distribute the Services, any component of the Service, or any products or services derived or developed from or based on the Service to any third party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Users may transfer the Deliverables associated with the Service to their MLS provider for the sole purpose of fulfilling the defined purposes of the MLS provider. Such transfer of this limited usage license to the MLS shall not in anyway be construed as a transfer of ownership to the MLS.
More specific licensing rights shall apply to certain image packages provided by Virtuance as follows:
“Stock Image Packages:” All Stock Image Packages carry with them a limited, non-exclusive license to use the photos in order to market the real-property listing for which they were purchased and cannot be used to market other listing or for any other purpose.
“Subdivision Packages:” All Subdivision Packages carry with them a limited, non-exclusive license to use the photos in order to market the real-property listing for which they were purchased and cannot be used to market other listing or for any other purpose.
What does this mean for your listing images?
Virtuance retains ownership of all of our images, and grants you licensing to use those images to market your listing however you need! This allows us to take action on your behalf should there be any issue with someone using your images without your permission.
If you are required to have a release form for your images, please email the form to our team at info@virtuance.com so we can review.
Should you need ownership of the images for any reason, or need to use the images to market another listing, or your business, contact our Client Success team via chat, email (info@virtuance.com), or phone (844-443-7325), and we can look at options for you!