Terms, Copyright & Licensing
gabriellemotola.com · Updated March 2026
1. ABOUT THESE TERMS
These terms govern all use of images, text, and visual material created by Gabrielle Motola and distributed in any form, whether on this website, through editorial commissions, fine art sales, or any other channel. They apply to clients, commissioners, print labs, galleries, publishers, and any other party who receives, displays, reproduces, or otherwise uses my work.
My practice spans fine art, street portraiture, editorial, and commission. The terms are structured to reflect that range. Where a specific commission contract or fine art sale agreement exists, it supplements these terms; in the event of conflict, the specific contract governs for that engagement.
These terms of business are based on and incorporate the AOP (Association of Photographers) standard terms of business (© The Association of Photographers Ltd, updated 2023), adapted to reflect my practice. I am a full member of the AOP.
2. COPYRIGHT
All photographs, images, and visual works created by Gabrielle Motola are protected by copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). Copyright subsists in every image from the moment of creation and remains with me unless explicitly assigned in writing.
The moral right to be identified as the author of all qualifying works is asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the CDPA 1988. This right applies whenever a work is published commercially, publicly exhibited, broadcast, or issued to the public in any form.
I also assert the right under section 80 CDPA 1988 not to have any qualifying work subjected to derogatory treatment: any addition, deletion, alteration, or adaptation that amounts to a distortion or mutilation of the work, or is otherwise prejudicial to my honour or reputation.
The standard credit form is © Gabrielle Motola, with year of first publication, accompanied where possible by a link to gabriellemotola.com.
Commissioning a photograph does not transfer copyright. Payment for a licence, print, or editorial use does not transfer copyright. Unless a written assignment agreement has been signed by me, the copyright in all works remains mine.
If you are uncertain whether a particular use is covered, the correct step is to ask before proceeding, not to assume.
3. ESTIMATES & COMMISSIONS
Commission enquiries are welcome across editorial, portrait, documentary, and fine art briefs. Each commission is governed by a written estimate and, where required, a formal agreement confirming scope, deliverables, usage licence, fees, and timelines before work begins.
3.1 Estimates are based on information provided by the client in advance. Changes to requirements before or during a shoot may increase the fee and expenses.
3.2 Estimates specify the number and characteristics of licensed images, the media and territories for which they may be used, and the duration of use. The client is responsible for checking the estimate to ensure it covers all requirements, including post-production, file formats, usage licences, and technical specifications.
3.3 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, the client's agreement of shoot date(s) constitutes acceptance of the estimate.
3.4 A Base Usage Rate (B.U.R.) may be specified in the estimate as the reference figure for calculating additional usage fees. If no B.U.R. is stated, it is equivalent to my day shoot fee.
For commission enquiries: provenance@gabriellemotola.com
4. CONDUCT OF SHOOT
4.1 Shoot dates are arranged by mutual agreement.
4.2 During the shoot I will take account of the client's reasonable instructions in respect of the brief.
4.3 If the client is not present during the shoot, my interpretation of the brief is deemed acceptable.
4.4 A normal day is up to 9 hours (including 1 hour for lunch) between 9am and 6pm on any working day. Hours worked outside this will incur additional overtime fees, to be agreed between parties.
5. CANCELLATION
If a confirmed shoot is cancelled or postponed for reasons outside my control, including unsuitable weather or light, I reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee as follows, together with all incurred expenses.
Shoots of two days or less:
5.1 Cancellation on less than 3 working days' notice: 100% of fee + all expenses.
5.2 3 to 6 working days' notice: 75% of fee + all expenses.
5.3 More than 6 working days' notice: 50% of fee + all expenses.
Shoots in excess of two days, notice equivalent to:
5.4 The shoot duration or less: 100% of fee + all expenses.
5.5 More than the shoot duration but not more than twice the shoot duration: 75% of fee + all expenses.
5.6 More than twice the shoot duration: 25% of fee + all expenses.
6. DELIVERY
6.1 Following completion of the shoot I will deliver material as soon as reasonably practicable in the agreed format. Unless expressly agreed in writing, the client is not entitled to reject material on the basis of style or composition.
6.2 The client shall ensure it retains an exact digital copy of all material supplied for the duration of the usage licence. I am not responsible for archiving material unless by prior written agreement.
6.3 Upon publication of licensed images, and on my request, the client shall supply me free of charge with a high-resolution digital file or good quality PDF of the images in the context in which they are published.
7. USAGE LICENSING
Any use of my images beyond what is explicitly granted in a commission estimate, invoice, or written licence agreement is an infringement of copyright.
7.1 The entire copyright and all similar rights throughout the world in all material created by me remains vested in me at all times.
7.2 Upon payment in full of all fees and expenses for an assignment, I grant to the client the right to use the licensed images strictly on the terms of the usage licence. No use may be made before payment in full without my express written agreement.
7.3 Unless otherwise agreed, the period of use commences from the date of first use or 6 months after the shoot date, whichever is sooner.
7.4 Usage of licensed images is limited to use as provided by me. The client shall not manipulate any licensed image or use only part of any individual image without my prior written consent.
7.5 The client may only sub-licence the right to use licensed images to the disclosed advertiser as agreed, strictly on the terms of the usage licence.
7.6 Any licence will automatically be revoked if payment in full is not received by the due date, or if the client becomes insolvent or enters into any arrangement or receivership.
7.7 The client is responsible for informing any advertiser or third party of the extent and limitations of all usage licences.
A licence granted for one purpose does not authorise other uses. An editorial licence is not an advertising licence. Online rights do not include print rights unless both are explicitly granted.
8. ADDITIONAL & EXTENDED USAGE
8.1 Any additional or extended use, including use of individual still frames from licensed moving image footage, will attract an additional fee to be agreed in advance. Any extended use made without permission will also attract an additional fee.
8.2 Estimates for additional or extended usage are valid for three months from the date of the estimate unless otherwise notified.
8.3 Extended licence renewals attract a 50% discount if renewed within the original licence period.
9. SOCIAL MEDIA LICENSING RATES
The following rates apply to single-image active use on social media only. For all other uses, contact me directly.
1 week £240 · 1 month £380 · 3 months £540 6 months £640 · 1 year £1,090 · 3 years £1,590
These rates are for image sizes up to 1,000 pixels on the longest side; larger sizes are charged at double. Where the image is posted in isolation rather than as part of a wider article or page, the rate doubles. All posts must carry a visible credit in the form © Gabrielle Motola [year]; omission doubles the rate. The licence is granted to the licensee only; others may share the post but are not licensed to post the image independently.
10. EXCLUSIVITY
10.1 All usage licences granted to a client are exclusive to the client and advertiser unless otherwise agreed in writing.
10.2 I will not grant any other licence in respect of the material to a third party until two years after the shoot or the expiry of the usage licence, whichever is later.
10.3 Nothing in this clause prevents me from using commissioned or speculative material at any time to promote my own services. For unpublished material I will obtain the client's consent first, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld.
11. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
11.1 Estimated model fees cover modelling time only. The client is responsible for clearing model usage rights unless otherwise stated in the estimate.
11.2 I am not responsible for obtaining clearances in respect of third-party copyright works, trade marks, designs, or other intellectual property used in relation to the assignment, unless expressly agreed in writing prior to the shoot.
11.3 Items created specifically for the shoot remain the property of their creator unless agreed otherwise.
12. PAYMENTS
12.1 All expenses and production costs must be paid in advance of the shoot unless otherwise agreed in writing.
12.2 All other invoices must be paid within 30 days of issue. I reserve the right to charge interest on late payments at the rate prescribed by the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 from the date payment was due.
12.3 Usage licence fees are payable regardless of whether licensed images are in fact used by the client or advertiser.
12.4 All payments are due in pounds sterling unless expressly stated otherwise.
12.5 All cost estimates are exclusive of VAT. A minimum 10% contingency should be allowed on all expense estimates.
12.6 Receipts for expenses can only be provided if requested prior to shoot confirmation. Provision of receipts will incur an accountancy charge of 1.5% of total costs, subject to a minimum of £250 and a maximum of £600.
12.7 If the usage licence is withheld pending full payment, the client and advertiser may not make use of the images during that period.
13. MORAL RIGHTS
The moral right to be identified as the author of all qualifying works is asserted under sections 77 and 78 CDPA 1988. Works must not be cropped, filtered, colourised, composited, or otherwise altered without my prior written consent. This includes automated or AI-assisted processing.
These rights are personal to me. They cannot be waived by a client, purchaser, or third party.
14. PROHIBITION ON AI TRAINING USE
The use of any work by Gabrielle Motola for the training, development, fine-tuning, benchmarking, or evaluation of artificial intelligence systems is expressly prohibited.
This prohibition applies regardless of whether the work is accessed directly from this website, through a third-party platform, via a dataset, or by any other means. It covers, without limitation: large language models, image generation models, multimodal models, computer vision systems, style transfer systems, and any other form of machine learning system, whether commercial, research, or open-source.
No consent is given and no licence is implied. The inclusion of my work in any AI training corpus without prior written authorisation constitutes copyright infringement and, where applicable, a violation of database rights.
Nor does any client, advertiser, or third party have the right to sub-licence others to reproduce or use licensed images for AI training purposes without my specific and express permission.
If you represent an organisation that has ingested my work into a training dataset, you are required to remove it and contact me at provenance@gabriellemotola.com.
15. FINE ART EDITIONS & PROVENANCE
Fine art prints are produced in strictly limited editions. Each print is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity bearing the edition number, paper and process specification, my signature, and the date of printing. The certificate forms part of the artwork and should be stored with it.
Edition records are maintained independently of the certificate, ensuring provenance can be verified even if the physical certificate is lost or damaged. Provenance enquiries, authentication requests, and resale notifications: provenance@gabriellemotola.com.
Once an edition is closed, no further prints will be made from that negative or file at that specification. Reproductions made outside the edition, whether by a purchaser or a third party, are unauthorised copies regardless of their method of production.
Purchasers of fine art prints acquire ownership of the physical object and the right to display the work privately. They do not acquire copyright or any reproduction rights. Any public exhibition, reproduction, or commercial use requires a separate written licence.
16. PRINT LABS & THIRD-PARTY PRODUCTION
Where print files are supplied to a laboratory or production partner in connection with a commission or edition, the following obligations apply to that party unconditionally.
16.1 Use restriction. Files may be used solely for the purpose stated in the accompanying brief or order. They may not be retained for future use, used for demonstration or marketing purposes, or shared with any other party.
16.2 Deletion. All digital files, including working copies and any derivative files created during production, must be permanently and securely deleted within 30 days of order completion unless a longer retention period has been agreed in writing. On request, written confirmation of deletion must be provided.
16.3 Security. Files must be stored securely during the production period, with access restricted to those directly involved in producing the order. Files must not be uploaded to any platform accessible to third parties without prior written consent.
16.4 No AI processing. Files must not be submitted to, processed by, or stored on any platform that uses uploaded content for AI training purposes. This applies to any automated processing step in the production workflow.
These obligations apply whether the lab is instructed by me directly or by a client acting on my behalf.
17. THIS WEBSITE
All content on gabriellemotola.com, including images, text, design elements, and the selection and arrangement of material, is copyright Gabrielle Motola except where stated otherwise. Nothing on this website may be reproduced, republished, or extracted without my written permission.
You shall not conduct, facilitate, authorise, or permit any text or data mining or web scraping in relation to this website. This includes using any automated device, program, tool, algorithm, code, or process to access, copy, monitor, or republish any portion of the website or its content.
Links to this website are welcome. Framing or embedding content in a way that misrepresents its origin or obscures attribution is not permitted.
18. CONFIDENTIALITY
18.1 I will keep confidential and will not disclose to third parties any material or information communicated in confidence for the purposes of an assignment, except as reasonably necessary to carry out my obligations.
18.2 It is the sole responsibility of the client to arrange for any third party involved in the assignment to enter into any required confidentiality agreement. I will not be liable for any breach of confidentiality by any third party.
19. INDEMNITY
The client shall indemnify me and keep me indemnified on a continuing basis against all liabilities, claims, costs, damages, and expenses arising from: any failure by the client to obtain required third-party clearances; use of material by the client or advertiser outside the usage licence; or any other breach by the client or advertiser of these terms.
20. EXTENT OF LIABILITY
20.1 I am not liable to the client for any loss of profit, loss of contracts, loss of business or revenues, loss of production, or for any indirect, special, or consequential loss arising out of or in connection with the shoot or these terms.
20.2 My maximum aggregate liability for all losses however arising is limited to the total fees paid in relation to the relevant assignment.
20.3 Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by my negligence, for any fraudulent act, or for any matter that it would be illegal to exclude.
21. TERMINATION
Either party may terminate these terms immediately by written notice if the other commits a material breach and fails to remedy it within 30 days of written notice; or becomes insolvent, enters bankruptcy, or is the subject of any form of seizure or receivership.
On termination, all sums due become immediately payable. Clauses 2, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 survive termination.
22. FORCE MAJEURE
I am not liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by circumstances beyond my reasonable control.
23. GENERAL
23.1 Waiver. No delay in exercising any right or remedy operates as a waiver of that right or remedy.
23.2 Severability. If any part of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder continues in full force.
23.3 Entire agreement. These terms and the relevant estimate or agreement constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the relevant assignment.
23.4 Third parties. These terms are for the benefit of the parties only. No third party has any right to enforce them under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
23.5 Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
LICENSING & RIGHTS ENQUIRIES
For any question about licensing, permissions, provenance, AI ingestion, print lab obligations, or any other matter covered by these terms:
Email provenance@gabriellemotola.com
I aim to respond to licensing enquiries within five working days. Please include as much context as possible: the image or images concerned, the intended use, territory, and duration.
© Gabrielle Motola 2026. All rights reserved. Moral right to be identified is asserted as provided for under ss.77/78 CDPA 1988.