When you use a photograph, normally the copyright by the photographer must be cited that, in this way, gives authorization to use the shot for the specific project specified by the customer.

As photographic agency, Mondadori Portfolio takes responsibility for the fulfilment of this practice.

Therefore, anyone who purchases a photograph from Mondadori Portfolio, automatically acquires the license for use according to terms specified in the invoice.

However, images can also be encumbered by other types of rights - in addition to the copyright by the photographer - it is necessary to have a release in order to publish them.

More specifically, this refers to those cases in which the photo contains images of:

1. Artworks
   
   
2. Male or female models, or more generally people whose identity is discernible (for example when the face is clearly visible)
   
   
3. Trademarks or industrial designs

In each of these cases, you must keep to the following principles:

•  The rights for works of art depicted must be released by their respective owners, for example the author, his heirs (including by SIAE - Italian Society of Authors and Publishers) or with public or private organization owner or consignee of the work (for example, images of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci must be released by the Polo Museale della Lombardia).
  
  

• The image rights of a photographic subject (be it model/artist/or person portrayed in general) must be released directly by the person photographed (the subject). In the absence of written authorisation, it is possible that the person portrayed objects to publication (even if it was consensual at the time the photograph was taken, it is not necessarily the same for the publication thereof)
  
  
• In the case of a celebrity, (politicians, entertainers, people in public office, etc.), an image can be published without authorization only if:
  (1) the person has been photographed within the sphere of their notoriety
  (2) the photo is published for the purpose of news (freedom of the press). 

Reproduction rights for trademarks or industrial designs must be obtained with the prior authorization of the owner, unless they have entered the public domain (i.e. 70 years after the author's death).

Unless special arrangements are in place, such as the photos of the works of art of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana or the Mondadori Electa archive, the customer is obliged to acquire for his or her own account the authorization for the use of the image of subjects photographed or the reproduction of trademarks, logos, and industrial designs covered by industrial property rights and/or copyrights.

At the request of the customer, Mondadori Portfolio also offers a release service for these additional rights. To find out more or to verify if a release of one of these rights is required for the use of the photo, please contact our sales personnel at sales@mondadoriportfolio.it.