Royalty-free images are photographs, clip art and other pictorial representations created for general use. Users pay to acquire the images, then can use them an unlimited or fixed number of times for certain purposes without paying additional fees.
With royalty free images, the copyright remains the property of the artist or photographer who created the image. The licensing specifies how many times the image can be utilized and lists any restrictions for its use.
One of the most popular sources of royalty-free images is the Internet, where users pay for images, then download them. Royalty-free images are sometimes available from graphic artists and designers on CD-ROMS, or in paper form.
Many websites that offer royalty-free images allow users to purchase individual images or receive a discount for buying a set of images at one time. Some sites also allow users to download an unlimited number of images by paying a set fee each week, month or year.
Royalty-free images save users money by only assessing a fee one time as opposed to other image licensing, which often requires payment for each use or each copy of an item where the image is displayed.