How licensing works.
The whole deal, in plain English: what you're buying, what it costs, how the file reaches you, and what to do if something needs putting right.
The flow, start to finish
Search
Place, date window, subject, camera. Only verified, licensable work appears — every image cleared the fail-closed capture check before it could publish.
Inspect
Every image carries its provenance: the capture check, the credential chain, place and time, any prior licences. Expand it to any depth on the asset page, or verify it independently.
License and pay
Choose a usage class at the published rate — no negotiation theatre. Pay by card; VAT is itemised at checkout, and your invoice and licence document are issued the moment the deal completes. License a single image, or a whole lightbox in one checkout.
Receive a file that proves itself
Before delivery the image is re-signed with a new Content Credential recording your licence — deal, date, usage class — chained onto its existing provenance. Delivery is gated on an in-pipeline verification pass: if the signature can't be verified, the file doesn't ship and we're paged.
The licence, in one screen
- Editorial use only — news, commentary, education. One title.
- No advertising or commercial use. No sublicensing, resale, or redistribution of the file.
- The publisher is responsible for the context of use, including obligations arising from identifiable people in editorial contexts.
- Photographer credit as supplied.
- Completed licences remain valid if the photographer later opts out or changes tier — what you licensed stays licensed.
- The licence is recorded in the image's Content Credentials and in The Block's permanent deal ledger.
Licence terms are versioned; the version you accept is printed on your licence document and recorded on the deal. The full text is shown at checkout.
Payment, invoices and VAT
Rates are published on the rate card and versioned — your deal honours the card in force when you paid. The Block takes payment as merchant of record; VAT is itemised at checkout; your VAT invoice and the licence document download instantly and remain available in your Desk library. 95% of every licence goes to the photographer — which is why the work is here.
Delivery, and one honest caveat
The delivered file carries its full credential chain — capture, publish, licence. Be aware that social platforms and some CMSes strip file metadata on upload, so a re-posted copy may lose its credential. That's why every deal also gets a permanent public record at theblock.photos/deal/… : the licence outlives any one copy of the file, and anyone can check it without asking us.
If something needs putting right
Refunds, usage disputes, takedown requests on a licensed asset: write to [email protected] with the deal reference from your licence document. Every case is handled by a person, logged against the deal's permanent ledger, and refunds are appended to the record — the original deal is never edited or erased.