Historical Image Reproductions & Permissions

Images and trademarks belonging to Hudson’s Bay Company are copyright to the Company. As such they require express permission for use by external individuals or organizations for any purpose. HBC’s Heritage Department administers the Image Reproduction and Permission Policy on behalf of the Company.

Requests for Publication

Photographs, paintings, trademarks, graphics, web pages and other images from the Hudson’s Bay Company Corporate Collection are typically requested for publication. Publication includes, but is not limited to, reproduction in books, magazines, newspapers, films, videos, and websites, presentations, public exhibits in a museum or interpretive centre, or on an interpretive sign or plaque.

Media Requests

Requests by media are normally exempt from the permissioning process and are subject to the Provision of Images to External Requesters Policy. If you are a member of the press, please contact the respective media contact for the business you are inquiring about.

Availability

HBC may grant permission to reproduce images and trademarks for which it holds copyright. However, not all images are cleared for reproduction.

Requesters will be informed as soon as possible whether the image they are requesting will be released. Approvals or denials of requests are at the sole discretion of HBC.

HBC cannot grant permission to images for which it does not hold copyright. Moreover, images depicting models and members of the public will not be cleared unless releases from such individuals as well as source photographers are obtained. Requesters are advised to keep this in mind when requesting images from HBC websites and advertising.

Rights

If approved, requesters will be given rights to non-exclusive, one-time use, subject to usage fees (See Fees, below). HBC reserves the right to reproduce the image and allow others to reproduce the image.

Any subsequent use or additional rights (including subsequent editions, paperback editions, foreign language editions, electronic editions, etc.) constitutes reuse, which must be applied for in writing to HBC and will be subject to a usage fee. (See Fees, below).

These rights are subject to terms and conditions (e.g. payment of fees, acknowledgement, review and approval of context, promotional copies, etc.) which will be spelled out in the permission letter.

Timelines

The permissioning process normally takes anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks. Requesters should submit requests well in advance of production deadlines. Approvals or denials of requests are at the sole discretion of HBC.

Fees

A usage fee of $300 per image ($100 per image for not-for-profit applications) will be charged. You will be given the following rights:

  • Non-exclusive use
  • Print and electronic
  • Ten (10) year term. Permission is granted for the specific publication requested, and includes reprints within the grant term. New or revised editions published within the grant term are not included and will require new permission.

N.B.

  • All fees are payable in advance
  • Not all images are cleared for reproduction
  • Most early photographs illustrating scenes of HBC and Simpson’s are the property of Hudson’s Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba (HBCA). If you are interested in any of these images (identified by their reference number, eg. HBCA 1987-363-Y-2/38), you must contact HBCA directly.

How to Order

To request permission to reproduce an image, please complete our online request form. Alternatively, print out the form, complete it, and mail it to: Hudson’s Bay Company Heritage Services, 698 Lawrence Avenue West, Toronto, ON, M6A 3A5. Clearly mark the envelope: IMAGE PERMISSION REQUEST.

Once your order has been received and approved, a Permission Letter will be issued by our Heritage department. This letter must be signed and returned to us with payment before the image will be issued.

Credit

We require that HBC be credited in the manner that we specify, as the source of the images. Unless specifically waived, two copies of any publication must be sent to Hudson’s Bay Company immediately upon publication.