Use Permission Agreement
Template Overview
A use permission agreement grants someone permission to use a specific piece of your existing creative work — a photo, illustration, or similar content — for a defined purpose, without creating anything new or transferring ownership. Use this for a single, bounded purpose, not full licensing or new commissioned work. Drafted from your side as the rights holder: permission is scoped to a specific purpose, media, territory, and term, with nothing outside what's listed permitted and no exclusivity mechanism. It includes an AI-use restriction that defaults to prohibited, an enforceable credit requirement, and reserved rights letting you keep displaying your own work. It's not for full commercial licensing (See other Toolkits for an Artwork or Photo Licensing Agreement, by medium) or new work created for someone else's project .
(Keep scrolling if you need some guidance.)
Get Started With
3 EASY STEPS:
1. Get the information.
Before you fill in the template, you need a few basics from the buyer: their full legal name, mailing address, and email. The Companion Guide has a ready-to-send message that requests everything you need in one short DM or email.
2. Fill it in.
You've already gathered everything you need in Step 1. Open the template and fill it in — if you get stuck, the Companion Guide has a walkthrough for every row. The whole process takes about 15 minutes once you have the buyer's information. The Terms and Conditions are fixed; don't edit them. Check the sample in the Companion Guide if you want to see what a completed contract looks like before you send.
3. Send it off.
The Companion Guide has a cover email template ready to adapt and send. Short, direct, tells the buyer what they need to know before signing. You can also offer to send them the plain-English summary — a public page that explains what does and doesn't transfer, in plain terms. Most buyers sign faster when they feel informed, not overwhelmed.
Ready to Go?
Click the Generate Template Now button to open the template in your Google Drive. Need help? Watch the video walkthrough.
If something unexpected comes up — a buyer asking to pay after delivery, a request to change the terms, a situation that doesn't quite fit — the Companion Guide has a full section on handling it. And if you're genuinely outside the template's scope, it will tell you that, too.
▶ Watch Katherine generate and customize a template from start to finish.
FAQ
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Each template has [bracketed information] identifying information for you to complete (such as name or dates) and some contain suggestions of additional details for you to provide (description of services or deliverables).
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Yes! You’ll start inside Google Docs. Once you add your details, you can use your contract with your preferred signing service. (If you don’t know how to do this, no worries–there’s a video!)
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Nope. When you make a copy and create a contract, you’ll save your file however you usually save files.
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No. We recommend that you do so, but you can use the same file on repeat.
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No. We update the master file, not your individual files. Nothing you’ve created in the past will update automatically.
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Yep. Whatever you create is yours to store as you wish.
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Subtraction is as important as addition–in math, art, and law. The best contracts have everything you need–and nothing you don’t need. Tools templates are based on our years of experience with projects like yours. We find that the most successful contracts are succinct, precise, and plain. Simple contracts are easier to read, easier to understand, and easier to get signed. They’re also less likely to cause conflict, because you–and your client–actually understand what you’re agreeing to!
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Implement Tools was created to help you uplevel to this question! If you need more help than the Tools provide, then you need a lawyer. We suggest you work with a lawyer who specializes in working with creative professionals. Implement Tools was built by Katherine and Robert Devine, and you can find them at Implement Legal, but there are many wonderful lawyers in this field.
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It’s time to negotiate! That’s exciting, because you have access to “Speak Your Worth: Negotiation Wisdom for Working Artists.” Hop over to that module and drink it all in.
If you want one-on-one help, you'll need a lawyer. You can reach out to Katherine and Rob at Implement Legal, or ask friends to refer you to another lawyer who works with creatives.