Photographer License Agreement
You keep the copyright. We get a limited license to publish with credit. You get paid every time your work earns.
1. The parties
This agreement is between you ("Photographer") and JRICKSS Financial Services LLC, operating Ayiti Bèl ("Ayiti Bèl", "we"). It takes effect when you submit your first piece of content to the platform. It is incorporated into the Terms of Service.
2. You keep the copyright
You remain the sole copyright holder of every photograph, video, caption, and accompanying material you submit. Nothing in this agreement assigns or transfers ownership of your work to Ayiti Bèl.
3. The license you grant us
Subject to the terms below, you grant Ayiti Bèl a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to:
- reproduce, publish, display, translate, resize, and reformat your submitted work on the Ayiti Bèl platform and its subdomains;
- use excerpts of your work in Ayiti Bèl's direct editorial communications (newsletter, platform social accounts) with credit and a link back to the full article;
- cache, back up, and transmit the work via content delivery networks required to operate the platform.
The license lasts as long as the associated article remains published on Ayiti Bèl. It ends when you or we remove the work, as described in Sections 8 and 10.
The license is non-exclusive. You are free to license, sell, publish, or submit the same work elsewhere without restriction.
4. Third-party press syndication
If a third party (a newspaper, documentary, textbook, agency, etc.) requests a license to your work via Ayiti Bèl, we will contact you for written approval before any syndication. Syndication revenue is split 70% to you, 30% to Ayiti Bèl, on net proceeds. You may decline any syndication request for any reason.
5. Revenue share on platform subscriptions
of net Patron and Archive revenue attributable to your work is paid to you, every month.
How we calculate attribution
Each calendar month we:
- Compute "Net Revenue" = gross Patron and Archive subscription revenue for the month, minus payment processor fees (Stripe) and direct media delivery costs (R2 bandwidth).
- Allocate 50% of Net Revenue into the Photographer Pool.
- Distribute the Photographer Pool pro rata based on article views attributable to each photographer, weighted by read depth (bounces are discounted).
- Pay each photographer their share on or before the first business day of the following month, via Stripe Connect, direct bank transfer, or MonCash (photographer's choice).
Payouts under $25 USD roll forward to the next month until the threshold is met, unless you request a payout anyway.
Transparency
Every calendar quarter we publish a public transparency report showing: total gross revenue, total net revenue, total Photographer Pool, total paid to photographers, number of active photographers, and Ayiti Bèl operating costs. You can audit our allocation by reviewing this report.
6. Credit and moral rights
We credit you by the name you designate, on every publication, in every format. Where you provide a bio and portfolio link, we include them. Removal of credit is a material breach by us and entitles you to terminate this license for the affected work and recover damages under applicable law.
We will not materially alter the content of your work (per the AI rule in the Terms of Service). Minor cropping for layout is permitted when editorial necessity requires it and always with credit preserved.
7. Your warranties
By submitting, you represent and warrant that:
- you captured the work yourself with a camera or mobile device (or hold written rights from the person who did);
- the work contains no AI-generated or substantially AI-modified content;
- EXIF metadata is authentic;
- you have obtained required consents from recognizable individuals;
- the work does not infringe any third-party rights.
You will indemnify Ayiti Bèl against third-party claims arising from breach of these warranties.
8. Termination and takedown
You may request removal of any specific submission at any time by emailing contributors@ayitibel.com. We will unpublish within 7 business days and remove the file from public caches within 30 days.
Already-earned revenue share for the removed work remains payable.
We may decline to publish any submission for any reason. We may remove any already-published submission if required by law, if it breaches Ayiti Bèl's content standards, or if new information indicates a breach of your warranties.
9. Taxes and contractor status
You are an independent contractor. You are responsible for your own tax obligations. Ayiti Bèl will collect required tax documentation (W-9 for US persons, W-8BEN or equivalent for non-US persons) before the first payout and will issue 1099-NEC forms where required by US law.
10. Entire agreement and changes
This agreement, together with the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, is the entire agreement between you and Ayiti Bèl regarding your submitted work. We will not reduce your revenue share below 50% without your written consent. Other changes take effect 30 days after notice and apply only to submissions made after the effective date.
11. Governing law
This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States. Disputes are subject to the venue provisions in the Terms of Service.
12. Contact
Photographer questions and payout inquiries: contributors@ayitibel.com
Legal: legal@ayitibel.com