Welcome to the customer resource center. If you’re here to find answers to frequently asked questions about Corbis, you’re in the right place. Here you will find information about the basics of image licensing, your account, lightboxes, as well as searching, browsing, downloading, and purchasing images. If you have any questions that are not covered below, please feel free to contact one of our representatives at 800 260 0444.
About Corbis
- What is Corbis?
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Corbis is a creative resource for advertising, marketing, and media professionals, providing a comprehensive selection of stock photography, illustrations, footage, fonts, and entertainment licensing and rights representation services. Through its brands Corbis® Images, Corbis Motion®, Veer®, and GreenLight®, the company helps the creative community produce distinctive work for web sites, magazines, newspapers, books, television, and films.
- Where is Corbis?
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We have offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Our branded web sites corbisimages.com, corbismotion.com, veer.com, and greenlightrights.com serve customers in more than 50 countries worldwide.
- Who are your customers?
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We serve hundreds of thousands of clients in leading advertising agencies, direct marketing and graphic design agencies, corporations, publishers and media companies, and small- and medium- sized businesses, as well as consumers.
- Where do you source your newly updated images from?
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We have more than 100 corporate image partners and represent the work of more than 30,000 photographers, enabling us to offer the most diverse and comprehensive collection of contemporary and archival images, footage, and fonts.
- How do you preserve original photographic elements?
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We’re widely recognized for our photographic preservation efforts led by our Chairman, Bill Gates. We’re preserving tens of millions of historical photographic objects in two climate-controlled facilities: The Film Preservation Facility (FPF) in Pennsylvania, USA, and the Sygma Access and Preservation Facility outside Paris, France. These initiatives ensure the images in these iconic collections can be easily accessed while preserving them for future generations.
- What is the Corbis Image Donation Program?
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The Corbis Image Donation Program allows nonprofit organizations or agencies doing pro bono work on behalf of a nonprofit organization to license Bettmann® Archive images free of charge (up to 20 per year, per organization) to tell their stories and promote their causes. Images may be used for brochures, invitations, exhibits, documentary films, and many other projects. Learn more
- What are your headline collections?
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Our headline collections span creative and editorial photography. From rights managed to royalty-free, unforgettable moments in history to natural wonders and iconic celebrities, each image meets a high standard of authenticity and originality specific to its collection. Explore what makes our offering so unique in features with our contributors, art directors, and more.
- Where can I find out more about Corbis?
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For more information, including career opportunities, please visit corporate.corbis.com.
Search
- How can I narrow my search results?
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We offer several ways to filter search results so that you can find exactly what you’re looking for as quickly as possible. Narrow an existing search by selecting criteria in the “Refine your results” section like image category, type of license, model attributes, model or property releases, and more. To look for images from a particular photographer, location, or provider, choose “Advanced search.”
Find more ways to narrow your search results.
- Can I change the way I view search results?
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Click “Display options” just above your search results, and choose the layout and details you want to see displayed with each thumbnail image.
Learn more and find other ways to customize your preferences.
- What’s the best way to search by keyword(s)?
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Using AND, OR, and NOT in your keyword search can help you refine your results. For more helpful hints on keyword search, explore our search tips guide.
- I’m looking for an image with a specific format. Can I search within this parameter?
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Yes. By pairing image format keywords with search terms like copy space, cut-out, *close-up, and eye-contact, you can find images that meet your needs. Find out more
- When I find something that’s close to what I’m looking for, can I see related images?
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When you open an image details page, you’ll find “Image keywords,” a list of clickable words that link to other images that share these keywords.
The “Related images” section helps you find more images that are from the same photo shoot or virtual CD, or feature the same models or locations.
Depending on the category of image, the “Image keywords” and “Related images” sections may not appear.
- I’m looking for inspiration. What’s the best way to start a search?
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Start by browsing our galleries. Choose “Creative” to view select rights-managed or royalty-free content, or to access the large collection of royalty-free virtual CDs.
Choosing “Editorial” allows you to browse the documentary, fine art, archival, news and sports, entertainment, or Outline™ categories.
When you search for images, you’ll also get instant access to relevant video clips from the world’s premier film and entertainment companies, plus royalty-free, archival, and HD footage — all at corbismotion.com.
- How do I save images I might want to buy later?
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If you’re signed in to your account, you can click the lightbulb icon below an image to save it in a lightbox. Learn more about lightboxes.
- Can I search for images using my browser bar?
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Yes. You can search for images directly through your browser. Simply add “Corbis Images” as a search engine. Find out more
Basics of licensing
- What is the difference between royalty-free and rights managed images?
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Royalty-free (RF) images are available for unlimited use, in accordance with the license agreement, for a one-time fee. You are able to use the image immediately after purchasing a license and you never have to worry about renewing the license. Licenses for royalty-free images are non-exclusive.
Rights managed (RM) images are available for a specified amount of time for a fee that is determined by intended use. Usage restrictions may apply due to the nature of the subject matter, geography, or the original agreement between photographer or agency and subject. Our Content Specific Webpage provides information regarding usage restrictions that may apply.
For more information on licensing images, please read the Corbis Content License Agreement.
- Can I use royalty-free images for free?
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No. Royalty-free means that once a license fee is paid, the images may be used an unlimited number of times by Licensee. A license is required to demonstrate that the rightsholder accepts your terms of use.
- Why do I need to buy a license?
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Original works of authorship are protected by copyright from the time they are created. A license confirms you have the permission of the rightsholder to use an image in a specific way. The creator’s or rightsholder’s rights are violated when part or all of the image is used without permission, the image is used beyond the scope of a license or permission, the image is adapted without permission, or an image is identically recreated without permission.
Infringement of copyright may result in, but is not limited to, monetary damages, lawsuits, costly legal fees, and/or criminal charges.
- What are seat licenses?
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Seat licenses provide authorization to download royalty-free images onto multiple computers. When you purchase a royalty-free image or virtual CD at Corbis, the license comes with ten seats. If you want to increase the number of computers able to access and download an image, please contact your sales representative.
- What is a virtual CD?
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A virtual CD is a group of royalty-free images available in a package for a great value. Part of the Fancy collection, a virtual CD contains 60 to 100 images shot by one photographer in a consistent style around a single topical theme or concept. Images on the virtual CDs can also be purchased individually. View titles in the collection.
- How can I be sure I’m legally covered to use an image?
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When you buy a license at Corbis, you receive certain indemnifications from Corbis. Find out more details about how we keep you protected in the Corbis Content License Agreement.
- Someone else created my website. Am I liable if the images are not licensed correctly?
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If the website belongs to you, whether or not someone else loaded the images to your site, you are responsible for ensuring you have the correct permission to use them.
- What is a model release?
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Written permission from an individual authorizing the use of his or her likeness in a photograph for commercial purposes.
- What is a property release?
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Written permission from the owner, real property holder, or rightsholder authorizing the use of the real property in a photograph for commercial purposes.
- How do I know if an image comes with a model and/or property release?
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You can find model and property release information (as well as other restrictions that may apply) on the Content Specific Webpage.
- Are model and property releases required for editorial use of images?
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Certain uses may not require model or property releases. Generally, model and property releases are not required for editorial use of images. However, if you are unsure whether you need certain permissions, please consult your own legal counsel.
- Do I need to be wary of any other items appearing in the image?
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Yes. You may need to have permission for trademarks, logos, artistic works protected by copyright, such as paintings and sculptures, as well as unique architectural works and buildings that appear in an image. If you are unsure whether you need additional permissions, consult your own legal counsel. If you need to secure permission to use an image with an unreleased works of art, our rights clearances specialists at GreenLight may be available to additional permissions not provided for in the License for a fee.
- I’ve been contacted by the Corbis Infringement department. What do I do?
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Please contact piracy@corbis.com at your earliest convenience.
- I need images for an internal company presentation. Do I still need to pay for them?
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Yes. You need to license the images for commercial use.
- I want to buy an image for personal use. Do I need a license?
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Yes, even for personal use, you need to acquire a license.
- I need to add motion to my project. Where can I license footage?
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Find a rich library of more than 500,000 video clips — including HD and royalty-free footage — at corbismotion.com.
- Where do I go if I need rights clearances, property clearances, celebrity clearances, or music clearances?
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Visit greenlightrights.com.
- Do you have a dedicated place to find affordably priced stock photography, illustrations, and fonts?
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Yes. You can find a broad selection of affordable images and fonts at veer.com.
Lightbox
- What is a lightbox?
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A lightbox is a personal online space for storing groups of images. When you’re working on a large project, a lightbox allows you to curate relevant images in one place. You must be registered at corbisimages.com to access this feature. Lightboxes are saved to our server, so they won’t take up any space on your computer.
- How can a lightbox help me search the site?
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A lightbox allows you to store and organize hundreds of images in one place. When you’re working on a large project, you can access relevant images without having to look for them again. It’s also useful for keeping track of photo IDs.
- Can I share a lightbox?
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Yes. And using the “Notes” feature, colleagues can leave comments or instructions.
- Can I sort images within a lightbox into smaller categories?
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Yes. If you need to sort photo IDs into different categories, you can do so using sublightboxes. After creating the new lightbox, click “Move lightbox.” You’ll then be asked to select a lightbox you want to move the other one into. Click “Move lightbox” again. You can create subfolders up to four levels.
- How do I create and access a lightbox?
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To create a new lightbox, click “Create new lightbox” at the top of the search results page. Type in the name of your lightbox and click “Save.” This will be your active lightbox for adding images. After creating the lightbox, a preview pane will appear on the left side of the screen. The tabs allow you to move between the “Refine your results” pane and the “Lightbox” pane.
To add images to a lightbox, click the lightbulb icon under each thumbnail in your search results. You can see the images being added to the lightbox in the preview pane. You can also create a new lightbox from this preview pane.
- Can I print the contents of a lightbox?
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Yes. Click “Print” and follow the prompts.
- How do I edit a lightbox?
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You can change the name of a lightbox by clicking “Rename" to the right of the lightbox name.
By clicking “Show” and “Edit,” you can access fields to list the name of a client and notes about the lightbox or project.
You also have the ability to sort images by photo IDs that were last added or first added. To copy or move images from one lightbox to another, click “Copy/Move items” and select the lightbox you want from the drop-down menu. Select the images you want and click either “Copy items” or “Move items.”
You can add notes to an image by clicking the “Add note” icon below the “X.” Type in your note and hit “Save.”
To delete a lightbox open the lightbox preview pane on the left hand side of the screen and click “X” to the left of the lightbox name.
- How do I share a lightbox?
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There are two ways to share a lightbox: e-mail or transfer.
To e-mail a lightbox, click “E-mail. To transfer a lightbox to a third person, make sure they’re registered at corbisimages.com and that you know their username. Click “Transfer,” type their username into the “Add a Corbis member” field, and click “Add.”