I. USERS FAQ
How can be sure that it's safe to use an image?
We have a strict set of procedures to control what enters our database. We feel quite comfortable with it so all our images come with a $10,000 legal guarantee. These are American, not Hong Kong dollars.
Some of your content represents public domain images, why should I pay you or a museum or someone else?
If you don't like the option of paying license fees, you can always find what you need, buy it or borrow it, and try to digitise it. It's a free world after all, or at least most of it is. Our contributing museums and collections rely on these revenues to keep their collections intact and to digitize it, which never comes for free.
What is RM and this PLUS licensing system?
We use - experimentally - the PLUS (Picture Licensing Universal System) which aims to unify the licensing standards across the whole imaging industry and make it easy to define both licensors and licensees for a given image.
May I distribute the images I had downloaded for educational use to third parties?
No, and this is one of the main conditions to use this free service by humanline.com. Even if this is a colleague of yours or a fellow student, the answer is no. Please ask him to login to our website and download whatever they need.
II. CONTRIBUTORS FAQ
What do I need to become a contributor?
Simply register a new account and apply for a contributor. If you are physical person, you will need a scan of a photo ID to verify yourself. After approval you will have to upload 3 to 5 images. If your first batch is accepted, congratulations - you are a member.
Why do you need a photo ID for private collectors, artists and other individual members?
Please understand: this is not an anonymous website. We and our users have to know who stands behind every contributor account. After all, our relations may involve financial transactions to you and we can not deal with anonymous users.
I represent an organization, what kind of documents do I need to upload when I apply for contributor?
Every organization has documentation that gives its manager a legal power to act on its behalf. Please provide us with a copy of it and we will contact you if we need any further info.
Why are educational downloads free of charge?
We believe that the public domain works of art, the legacy of our civilization, have to be available for educational purposes for free. Charging money for use in classroom acltivities is just not right thing to do. We cover the cost of it by charging fees for commercial use on behalf of the artists and collections we represent, as every other museum, gallery or library would do.
How do you guarantee that our images downloaded for education use will be used for that purpose only?
As putting a policeman next to each user's computer is not really an option, we have made a strict and controlled procedure to guarantee that our good cause will not be used for other purposes:
In brief, we have made it difficult enough so that it's just not worth the risk of becoming liable to legal prosecution. And our contributors have become our volunteer squad that sees and reports such cases.
Is it possible to contribute for commercial use only?
No. Our concept requires that all images should be available for both educational and commercial uses. If you don't like this, please seek other options to reach users for your visual content.
Can I withdraw some or all of my images supplied to your website?
Yes, at anytime. Please contact us to discuss it.
How much will I earn per year for my images?
Everything depends on if and when someone is going to need it. We cannot guarantee any paid downloads but we strongly urge you to upload whatever seems interesting and valuable - its a strict rule of humanline.com that a photo/scan of an artwork can only be added once. We don't want to keep ten copies of the same map, engraving or a painting, unless you have a significantly better quality (see below).
You don't allow for upload more copies/scans of artworks already added to your database, are there any exceptions?
We are very strict in restraining multiple uploads with only one exception - the new upload should represent a significantly better copy in terms of image quality and resolution. You can check the image quality by zooming at 100%. We always advise that you ask first if you have any doubts, this will save both parties time and efforts.
Why are your contributors' royalties only 50%, isn't that low?
In the stock image industry 20% is the usual start, and 50% is accepted as the percentage that will make an image library or agency bankrupt. All this has a reason, so believe us or not, our percentages are very, very reasonable.
I have found some ready digitised images on the web, can I upload it to humanline.com?
No. It may be safe to do so, and even legal in some cases, but it's just not fair.
I am a heir of an artist, who has passed away recently, can I add his/her artworks to this website?
Of course you can and we welcome you to make a profile and apply for a contributor status. Please feel free to send any letter with additional info.