To prevent the misuse of a trademark or logo, Shutterstock does not accept trademarks or logos in commercial content or metadata (titles and keywords). This is to protect both our contributors and our customers since the content you create and submit for commercial use may be used in advertisements or product branding.
You can learn more about our Intellectual Property (IP) requirements here.
How do I know what qualifies as a trademark?
Generally, a trademark is a word, name, symbol, device, or a combination of these items used to distinguish and identify the source of certain products or services.
If a word, name, or symbol in your content brings to mind a specific product or service, it may be protected by a trademark. An example of a trademark is a company logo or a design that would be associated with a specific product or service, such as the "swoosh" logo on Nike sneakers.
Refer to Known Image Restrictions - Brands and Trademarks for more details on what qualifies as a trademark.
What do I do if my content contains a trademark?
If commercial content contains a trademark, the trademark will need to be removed before submitting the content to Shutterstock’s marketplace.
Content that contains a trademark may also be submitted as editorial if it meets our editorial standards and legal requirements. Please refer to this article for more information.
The following recommendations will help you create commercial content free of trademarks:
When taking pictures or videos that you intend to submit for commercial use, always keep in mind that Shutterstock typically will not accept content that contains trademarks such as logos, brand names, product names, slogans, or other protected marks.
If you are working with models, ensure their wardrobes contain no visible brand names or logos.
When shooting cityscapes or on the street, make sure your imagery does not depict any trademarked content. Buildings, vehicles, billboards, and apparel worn by the public may be key areas of concern.
If your content features a trademark, consider editing it out in a photo or video editing program so that the image or video can be used commercially.
When designing illustrations, do not base them on or incorporate actual sport team logos, mascots, social media logos, or logos belonging to any trademarked brands.
Do not use company names, business names, or product names in titles or keywords.
Do not include names of public figures who died after 1930 or are currently living or media franchise fictional characters in commercial content or metadata.
Be aware that commonly used names for products may actually the brand name of a product, such as kleenex, xerox, crossfit, and sellotape.
Below are two examples of commercial images with samples of acceptable and unacceptable metadata.
675282772 by Anetlanda
Acceptable Titles
“A young blond woman in a striped shirt and blue jeans leaning on a wall.”
“Teenager relaxing with eyes closed.”
Acceptable Keywords
Style, teenager, girl, striped, shirt, relax, eyes closed, lean, wall, blond, young, outdoors
Unacceptable Titles
“Young blond woman wearing a Betsey Johnson shirt and Gap jeans relaxing with eyes closed.”
“Young woman relaxing outside of Walt Disney World”
Unacceptable Keywords
Walt Disney World, sunglasses, Betsey Johnson, clothing, Gap, jeans
2253285617 by XianX
Acceptable Titles
“San Francisco skyline during golden hour.”
“View of San Francisco city during sunset.”
Acceptable Keywords
city, urban, san francisco, buildings, modern, architecture, modern, cityscape, business, sky, downtown, view, metropolis, urban
Unacceptable Titles
“The city of San Francisco with a view of Salesforce Tower in the distance.”
“The Salesforce Tower and other buildings in San Francisco, California, USA.”
Unacceptable Keywords
Buildings, city, usa, golden hour, california, salesforce, outdoors, water, san francisco,
You can learn more about our Intellectual Property (IP) requirements here.