Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is considered personal, non-commercial use?

A: Private study and non-commercial use includes: reference use for academic and personal research, illustration in unpublished academic works (essays, dissertations, theses), use of image(s) in a classroom or teaching setting, personal interest and private use at home. Please make sure you acknowledge the source of the image wherever you use it, by showing the credit line: CC-BY-NC-ND © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Q: What is considered commercial use?

A: Commercial use of an image or video footage is when the work, in which the image appears, is reproduced in any manner that is primarily intended for or directed toward commercial advantage or monetary compensation. This could be books, magazines, journals that are offered for sale, commercial tv programmes, films, fee-paying exhibitions, commercial websites, online courses, or brand licensing projects. In other words, a project is commercial if the licensed image or video, in whole or in part, is used for promotional, advertising, publishing, merchandising, websites (including blogs), or any other purposes that may generate financial profit.

Q: I’d like to use an image for my essay in school. Is it okay to download it from your website?

A: Yes, you are welcome to use our low-resolution images for non-commercial academic or personal use. We ask you to please use the following credit line next to the images: CC-BY-NC-ND © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Q: I'm a teacher and would like to put your images into the worksheets that I'd use in my lessons. Is that possible?

A: Yes, you are welcome to use our low-resolution images in a classroom setting, since it is considered non-commercial use. We ask you to please use the following credit line next to the images: CC-BY-NC-ND © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Q: I'd like to publish an image in an academic journal. Do I need to purchase a licence?

A: Yes, you will need to purchase a licence, as publishing in a journal, e-journal, newspaper, book or e-book falls under the 'commercial' use category.

Q: What is the difference between this website and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's other website, called 'Discover Shakespeare'?

A: This website (Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Images) offers images over which we hold or administer full copyright and which are digitised to the highest quality. The 'Discover Shakespeare' (or 'Collections') website has the purpose of cataloging all the items that we currently hold (in our library, museum and archives), including those with low-resolution photos or no photos at all. The copyright status of many items found on the 'Discover Shakespeare' website are under clearance or the copyright of the items are with third parties. If you would like to license an image that you found on the 'Discover Shakespeare' website that you can't find here, please get in touch with us and we will do everything we can to help.

Q: I can’t find an image that I’d like to use but I have seen it on the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's other website, called 'Discover Shakespeare'. How could I get that image in high-resolution?

A: Many of our images are not yet available on this website. However, it is possible that we have a high-resolution version of the image you are looking for, in which case we can supply it to you and inform you about the licensing terms. Even if we don’t have the high-resolution version of the image, we can digitise it for a small fee. The copyright of many items found on the 'Discover Shakespeare' website are with third parties, in which case we can't offer a licence. Please get in touch with us to discuss the possibilities.

Q: I found some theatre images on this website that feature productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Are you the copyright holder of these?

A: Yes. The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust owns the copyright and administers licences for all the images that are curated on this website. However, we do hold material related to the RSC in our collections where the copyright remains with the photographer or with the RSC itself. Those photographs and documents do not appear on this website. If you are unsure, please get in touch with us and we can advise.

Q: How can I download the images and videos?

A: You can download any of the images in low-resolution format from our website directly, for personal, non-commercial use. Just click on the image and you will find the ‘download asset’ icon in the bottom right corner. Please note, you have to be registered and logged in to do that. If you need the high-resolution version of the image, we ask you to read our New Photography and Image Licensing Guide and sign our Reproduction Application Form. After this, we can give you access to download the high-resolution version of the image from our website.

Q: Where can I find the licensing terms with regards to the use of your images?

A: You can find these terms under the ‘Terms & conditions of using our Images’. Please note that the fees are listed in the New Photography and Image Licensing Guide.

Q: Where can I find information about your fees?

A: Fees of our different licences can be found in our New Photography and Image Licensing Guide.

Q: Do you offer discounts?

A: We offer discounts for small print runs and a discount (on the total licensing fee) applies when five or more images are licensed concurrently. Please download our New Photography and Image Licensing Guide document for more information.

Q: I’d like to license an image or video footage. What is the process?

A: First, we ask you to read our New Photography and Image Licensing Guide, then please download our Reproduction Application Form, fill in the details, sign it (by hand or using Acrobat Reader) and send it back to us to our e-mail address (images@shakespeare.org.uk). We will reply to you by issuing a license and give you permission to download the high-resolution image from our website. In the meantime, we will issue an invoice and send it to you in a separate e-mail.

Q: We are working on new product development and using the images as inspiration. Can I share the images with my team?

F: You can’t share individual images but you can create a ‘Lightbox’ and share the ‘Lightbox’ with others. In fact, we encourage you to use the ‘Lightbox’ feature to collaborate with your team members on projects or to create ‘mood boards’ for inspiration. You can even create ‘notes’ and ‘comments’ in these lightboxes. You can find assistance with how to use the Lightboxes on this 'Help' area of the website.

Q: Can I share the images on social media?

A: You can share the low-resolution downloaded images or links to the images on social media as long as it is for a personal, non-commercial purpose and it is in line with our general terms & conditions. We ask you to please link back to this website if possible, tag us using our social media handles and use the following credit line next to the images: CC-BY-NC-ND © Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Q: How can I use the 'Lightbox' feature on the website?

A: You need to register and log in first, to be able to use this feature. You can read more about lightboxes here.

Q: I’m a textile designer and would like to use patterns that I found on some of your textile images. Is it possible?

A: If it is for a commercial purpose, you will need to apply for a licence. Please get in touch with us to discuss how we can work together.

Q: Can I modify the images?

A: You are welcome to crop the images. If you’d like to do more than cropping, please ask for our permission. The personal, non-commercial use of our images falls under the CC-BY-NC-ND Creative Commons licence.

Q: I found an image on this website where the copyright belongs to another owner. Can you correct it?

A: If you find that the copyright is not correctly described, or you think the copyright belongs to you, please contact us as soon as you can. Please include in your message your contact details and a description of the images in question. These will be removed from the website while rights issues are being resolved.

Q: I found a factual error on your website. Can this be corrected?

A: We encourage our website visitors to let us know any factual errors they find and we will correct them as soon as possible.