Evaluating Licensing: Public Domain and Royalty-Free

Public Domain and Royalty-Free licensing offer significant benefits for content creators, educators, and businesses, allowing for easier and more flexible use of media assets. Each has its advantages depending on the project’s needs and objectives:

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Benefits of Public Domain Licensing

Benefits of Royalty-Free Licensing

By combining the benefits of public domain and royalty-free licensing, creators and businesses can access a broad spectrum of content with minimal financial and legal constraints, supporting a wide range of creative, educational, and commercial projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which titles do you license as royalty-free compared to public domain?

Buyout Footage proprietary content includes video footage related to the World Trade Center attack on 9/11, vintage home movie films, and an extensive video library from the 1980's - 1990's. We offer royalty-free licensing tiers for non-broadcast, broadcast and feature film.

Non-proprietary content includes films, cartoons, short subjects, television shows, TV commercials, PSA's, newsreels, presidential speeches, U.S. military and government produced works. This content is primarily considered public domain and we provide source documentation and licensing to that effect.

Are there any restrictions on how I can use public domain footage?

There are 3rd party rights to be aware of that have nothing to do with copyright. These include rights of privacy / publicity, registered trademarks, music, and underlying literary rights. For more information, please review our Public Domain Usage Guidlines

Why purchase from Buyout Footage?

Uncompressed film transfers | 2K/4K/6.5K spirit data scans from the best film prints available; native video source files; master digital files delivered in ProRes 422HQ; download links provided within 24 hours; source documentation satisfying E&O insurance requirements.