FAQ

What format are the photos in?
All Africaphotobank photos are in JPG format.

Do you add photos on a regular basis?
Yes. We add photos as they are taken. 

Do you offer refunds?
Once your purchase is made we cannot offer a refund. The reason for this policy is because we offer full access to our entire digital collection of photos and, as such, there is no way for our products to be returned. On a rare occasion we will make exceptions on a case by case basis.

Is account sharing allowed?
No, sharing an account is no different than distributing our materials to others. Individual accounts must be made by your friends and colleagues. 

Are there any restrictions on my use of the Africaphotobank photos that I download?
Yes. Please refer to the licensing section of our website.

How you treat copyright infringements?

As a professional  team, we take copyright violation very seriously and we will aggressively search for, and will find violators of our copyright, If any of our images/video are used without complying with our terms and conditions or in some cases without our permission we will take all necessary legal actions against you.

I'm using an image I found through a Google Image search. If it's on the internet, doesn't that mean it's free?

 No. Just because an image is on the internet, it doesn't mean the image/video is free to use. You may still need the correct license to use it. There is a difference between an image being online and an image being "in the public domain" (the term given to content that is not owned or controlled by anyone).

Someone else created my video promotional. Am I liable if the clips are not licensed correctly?

If a third-party editor,designer, employee, contractor or intern designed and developed your video promotional, you are responsible for ensuring they have licensed the video for your use. If no valid licenses exist the liability of any infringement will fall on the company (the end client) who used the image.

I'm just a blogger and my site is non-commercial. Can I use images for free?

In most cases, no. Unless your use is specifically permitted by copyright law, all the images on your website must be properly licensed, regardless of the nature of your site.

Do I need to credit your image(s)?

You do not need to credit any of our image(s).We do like credits as it is one way to keep traffic come to our site.

Frequently Asked Questions about unauthorized use of images:

Who is Africaphotobank :

 We are a media production house based in Botswana. Currently we have approximately 200000.00 in our library, and more than 20000.00 assets online on various outlets with the main website being www.africaphotobank.com 

Somebody else created my company’s website:

 We understand that a third-party designer, contractor, former employee, intern etc. may have been contracted to design and develop your company website. However, if no license has been issued by us, the liability of any infringement according with Botswana Copyright Law falls on the company (end user) etc. not on a third party. We recommend that you contact your third-party contractor, to see if any of our licenses surrounding the specific use of the asset in question exists.

We have removed the images and now consider this matter closed

 Our company appreciates the removal of its represented media assets from your company website, billboards, print, TV, social media etc. However, removal of the media assets in question solves only part of the issue, as our media production house will continue to require full payment of the demand presented to settle the matter and avoid further escalation.

We found these media assets on the internet, Google search etc, so we thought they are free

 Most of the media assets on the internet are copyright protected. They are some images/video/ media assets on the internet on public domain, copyright expired, limited number of Creative Commons licenses, or simply offered for free from various artists but you must always check what kind of license is issued.

Our media assets are not, if any of them are free they are clearly marked.

We did not know these media assets are represented by your media house and had to be licensed.

 You may have been unaware that this imagery was subject to license. However, copyright infringement can occur regardless of knowledge or intent. While being unaware of license requirements is unfortunate, it does not change liability, nor does it relieve you of the obligation to pay the demand to settle our claim of copyright infringement. You as the beneficiary/publisher using our media assets, are the responsible party, even if a third party is involved with you in the creation of the unlicensed content.

What is a retroactive license, charge for unauthorized use.

 As explained clearly in our licensing terms a retroactive license is paid for media assets already used without our permission infringing our rights. Why a penalty? A penalty is strictly reinforced, because otherwise nothing will stop the infringer to just pay the license, only when and if he is identified using it illegally, without any repercussions for his act, thinking that he is above the law. Always the date on the license issued to you must be prior or match the date of the first publishing date.

Why 10x the amount of the highest license? This is the industry standard set by the world leader Getty Images, and several others and we are following the standard international practice.

Can I use an image/video/media asset and pay after.

 No. All of our media assets are available online only with direct payment. You cannot use any of our media assets and pay after, the purchase date must be prior or match the first date of publishing.