A photograph that works well on one business website is an obvious candidate for a second brand’s brochure or social post. The file is already available, the quality looks right and somebody remembers paying for it. That can make reuse feel routine.
The missing detail is often the permission. An image may have been licensed for one website, commissioned for a particular campaign or supplied under terms that restrict how it can be edited. Moving the same file to another brand can create a new use even when both brands sit in the same business portfolio.
Before you reuse images across brands, trace the source and read the evidence that came with the file. A short check is usually easier than trying to reconstruct the decision after the image has appeared in several places.
Start with the proposed use
Write down what you intend to do before searching through old folders. Name the brand, the channel and the purpose. “Use on Brand B’s public website home page” is a question you can test against a contract. “Use for marketing” is too broad.
Include any planned changes to the image. Cropping a photograph for a banner, adding text, changing colours or combining it with another visual may matter under the applicable terms. If paid advertising is planned, record that as well rather than assuming that permission for an ordinary social post covers it.
This first note keeps the check focused. You are comparing one proposed use with the evidence, not trying to settle every possible future use at once.
Trace the image back to its source
A familiar file name is not evidence of permission. Find out who created or supplied the image and where the original agreement is kept. Useful starting points include the photographer or designer’s name, a stock-library asset number, the original invoice, a commissioning brief or a dated permission email.
The UK Intellectual Property Office says that photographs, illustrations and other images are generally protected by copyright. A business will usually need permission from the copyright owner to copy an image or share it online. Its guidance on digital images and photographs also makes clear that the absence of a copyright symbol does not mean an image is free to use.
If the only evidence is a copy downloaded from an old web page, keep looking. That page shows where the image appeared, but it does not explain who approved it or whether the approval extends to a different brand.
Read the licence or contract itself
Do not stop when you find a receipt. Open the terms connected to the purchase or commission and compare them with the proposed use.
Picture libraries can set contract conditions covering the images they supply. Those conditions may address the organisation using the image, the permitted channels, commercial use, advertising, editing, attribution, duration or territory. The relevant detail is the wording that applied to the asset when it was obtained, not a general memory of how the supplier usually works.
A second brand name, website or social account may fall outside a narrow licence. Equally, a broad licence may already cover the intended use. The evidence should decide the answer. Avoid making the licence sound broader or narrower than it is.
Treat commissioned images with care
Paying for an image does not always transfer its copyright. The Intellectual Property Office says that when an organisation commissions a freelance photographer, illustrator or other third party, the creator will usually be the first copyright owner unless an agreement says otherwise.
The organisation may have a licence to use the work without owning it. The same official guidance notes that a licence for one purpose or medium does not automatically permit another use. A photograph commissioned for a particular website may therefore need an additional permission before it moves to another brand or campaign.
Check for a signed copyright assignment or a licence that names the allowed uses. If the contract is silent or unclear, do not rewrite its meaning in an asset note. Record the uncertainty and take it back to the creator, supplier or an appropriate adviser.
Check editing and credit conditions
Reuse often involves changing the file to fit a new layout. Check whether the terms allow cropping, colour changes, overlays or adaptation. Where a creator has required acknowledgement, carry the agreed credit into the new use.
Keep the credit wording with the image rather than expecting each editor to recreate it. The Intellectual Property Office explains that creators may have a right to be acknowledged when that right has been asserted. It also notes that metadata can carry information about the copyright owner, although normal uploading and downloading can strip metadata from an image.
For that reason, the visible file should not be the only place where source and credit details are stored. Keep a separate reference to the contract or permission.
Keep brand identity in the decision
Permission is one part of the check. The image also needs to make sense for the brand using it. A photograph chosen for one audience can feel borrowed or misleading when placed on a business with a different job.
MightyGroupUK currently presents four ventures on its Our Brands page. They sit together as a portfolio but keep distinct websites and identities. The article One family, four voices explains why shared standards do not require every brand to look and sound alike.
This does not mean that images can never be shared. It means reuse should be deliberate. A parent-level photograph may suit a group update, while a specialist image may belong with the audience and context for which it was created.
Record the decision before copying the file
A short reuse note is enough for most routine decisions. Record:
- the image or asset reference;
- the proposed brand, channel and purpose;
- the source of the permission;
- the decision and any conditions;
- the person who checked it and the date;
- the new public location once the image is in use.
Link to the original contract, licence or permission rather than copying sensitive commercial details into a widely shared document. Do not put account passwords or private access information in the note.
The location record also makes later housekeeping easier. If permission changes or the image is replaced, somebody can see where the reused copies need attention.
When the evidence is unclear
Do not treat missing paperwork as proof that an image is unsafe, and do not treat previous publication as proof that every new use is allowed. Mark the proposed reuse as on hold while you find the original agreement, ask the creator or supplier, choose another image with clear terms, or seek professional advice where the issue warrants it.
This guidance is a working check, not legal advice. Its purpose is to make the next decision visible and evidence based.
Checking the source before reuse gives the next editor a clear answer and keeps the decision tied to evidence rather than familiarity with the file.