Image Policy

At VMP International Ltd ("VMP International", "we", "our" or "us"), we uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect for intellectual property. This policy explains how we manage, use and protect the photography, videography and other visual content created by or for VMP International and featured on our website, our social media channels and our associated platforms.

It also explains what our clients can do with the visual content we produce for them, and how anyone appearing in our content can ask us to change or remove it.

1. About this policy

Who it applies to. This policy applies to visitors to our website, to third parties who wish to use our visual content, and to individuals who appear in it. Parts of it also apply to our clients, and are marked as such.

How it sits alongside our contracts. Where we have entered into a Master Services Agreement, an Engagement Document or any other written agreement with a client or supplier, that agreement governs the relationship and prevails over this policy to the extent of any inconsistency. This policy does not vary, reduce or extend rights granted under a signed agreement. It is a summary of our general position, written for the website, and it is not a contract.

Definitions. Where this policy uses the terms Deliverables, Client Materials, VMP Materials and Engagement Document, they carry the meanings given in our Master Services Agreement.

2. Ownership of our content

Ownership. All photography and videography featured on the VMP International website, our social media channels and in any other digital or print format is the exclusive property of VMP International Ltd, unless otherwise credited.

Copyright. We retain full copyright in all original visual content in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Any use of our images or videos must be approved by us in writing in advance.

Attribution. Where our content is used with permission, our attribution, watermarks, credits and embedded metadata must be retained and must not be removed, obscured or altered.

3. Using our content

Our own use. Images and videos we create are intended for use across our own platforms, including our website, social media, portfolio, proposals, award entries and marketing materials.

Third-party use. If you would like to use our visual content, contact us and we will consider the request. Permission must be given by us in writing in advance, and any use must follow the terms we agree, including any attribution we require. Permission granted for one purpose does not extend to any other purpose, platform or campaign.

Withdrawing permission. We may withdraw a permission granted under this policy at any time, on notice. Where we do, you must stop using the content and remove it from the platforms and materials it appears in, as soon as reasonably practicable. This does not require removal from printed or archived materials already distributed.

This right to withdraw applies to permissions granted under this policy. It does not cut across a licence granted to a client under a signed agreement, which is governed by that agreement and by section 4 below.

4. Content we produce for clients

This section summarises the position in our Master Services Agreement. The Engagement Document for your project always takes precedence.

We keep copyright. We retain copyright and ownership of the Deliverables we produce, including photography, videography and other creative work.

What payment gives you. Payment in full of all fees relating to an engagement grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Deliverables for your own internal and commercial purposes. It does not transfer copyright ownership to you. All licences are conditional on payment in full, and may be suspended while fees remain outstanding.

What the standard licence covers. Unless we agree otherwise, standard usage covers your own website, organic social media, organic video channels, email, internal communications and unpaid digital marketing.

What it does not cover. Unless expressly agreed, the standard licence does not cover paid advertising, paid social, paid search or display, broadcast television or radio, cinema, out-of-home advertising, resale, merchandising, or use promoting an unrelated third party. Extended usage can be agreed in writing and may attract an additional fee.

Transfer of copyright. Where a project needs full copyright transfer, we can agree it. It must be recorded expressly in the Engagement Document and may require an additional fee.

Raw files. Raw footage, unedited images and editable project files are not normally supplied.

Restrictions. Deliverables may not be sold, sub-licensed or commercially exploited independently of your own business, supplied to a competitor of ours for the purpose of replicating our services, or circulated externally with our attribution removed.

Your own materials. You keep ownership of Client Materials you supply to us. You grant us a licence to use them to deliver the work and, subject to section 8, for portfolio and case-study purposes.

5. Artificial intelligence

Our visual content may not be used to train, fine-tune or otherwise develop artificial intelligence or machine-learning models, nor ingested into generative AI tools, without our prior written consent. This restriction applies to our website content, our social media content and any Deliverables we produce, and it applies whether the content is used on its own or as part of a wider dataset.

Where we use AI tools in our own production process, we do so only where the tool’s terms permit commercial use, and we remain responsible for the rights and permissions in the finished work.

6. Third-party assets

Not everything in a finished piece of content is ours. Music, fonts, stock footage, stock photography, graphics and other third-party assets are licensed for the agreed usage only and remain subject to the original supplier’s licence. The right to use a third-party asset applies only as incorporated within the finished piece. It does not permit that asset to be extracted or reused independently.

7. People, permissions and privacy

Ethical practice. We ensure that the individuals and locations featured in our content have granted the necessary permissions, in accordance with UK data protection and privacy law, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Events and venues. Where we capture content at events or third-party venues, we work in accordance with the policies of the event organiser or venue and, where appropriate, with signage or notices informing attendees that photography or filming is taking place.

Personal data. Where individuals appear in our visual content, their images are used responsibly and in line with applicable privacy law. Consent is obtained where required, and our use of personal data within visual content is governed by our Privacy Policy.

Children and young people. Where content features anyone under the age of 18, we obtain consent from a person with parental responsibility before that content is used, and we follow the safeguarding requirements of the club, academy, school, venue or governing body involved. A parent or guardian may ask us to remove content featuring their child at any time, and we will act on that request promptly and without asking for a reason.

Withdrawing your consent. If you appear in our photography or videography and would like the content amended or removed, contact us at taylor@vmp-international.com. We will deal with your request promptly and in accordance with applicable law, and will respond within one month.

8. Portfolio and case studies

We feature selected client work in our website, portfolio, proposals, social media, award entries and business-development materials.

We will not publish confidential figures, unreleased campaigns, live negotiations, deal terms or the identity of a counterparty without prior written approval. Where a client requires an engagement to remain unnamed, we record that in the Engagement Document and describe the work only in anonymised terms.

Where a client approves a case study, that approval continues until it is withdrawn in writing. Withdrawal does not require removal from printed or archived materials already distributed.

9. What is not permitted

Reproducing, modifying or distributing our visual content without authorisation.
Using our photography or videography commercially without permission. Unauthorised commercial use may result in legal action.
Removing watermarks, credits, attribution or metadata from our visual content.
Using our content to train or develop artificial intelligence or machine-learning models without our written consent.
Using our content in a way that implies we endorse a product, person or organisation we have not agreed to endorse.
Extracting third-party assets from a finished piece of content for separate use.

10. Reporting a concern

If you believe our content has been used without authorisation, or that content we have published infringes your rights or those of someone you are responsible for, tell us and we will look into it. Please include a link to the content and a description of the issue.

11. General

Changes to this policy. We may update this policy from time to time. The version published on our website is the current version, and the date below shows when it was last revised.

Governing law. This policy and any dispute arising from it are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

Contact

To request permission to use our visual content, or if you have questions about this policy, contact taylor@vmp-international.com.