Limited edition prints and stock use

Friends, this may be a dumb question, I am new to this so please bear with me :)

If I sell a print as a limited edition and also sell the same image through a stock agency is it possible for a buyer of the same image from the stock agency and sell those as archival prints? thus defeating "limited edition" sale of mine ?

Thanks in advance !

I'm inclined to say no only because I have not heard of agencies licensing fine art print rights. I think most people in galleries would expect the prints to originate from the photographer rather than a 3rd party source. The few legit agencies that do make and sell prints however usually ask photographers if they want to opt in.

As long as the stock images have Rights Managed licenses, you can control how the buyer can use them.

Lydia Dotto, ImageInnovation Photography
http://www.imageinnovationphotography.com

I don't do any stock so I'm a bit in the dark here. But isn't there a bit of a conflict between selling a print as a limited edition and also selling it as a stock image?

Carson

Carson, I don't know, I am new to both

It is possible if you don't include some kind of restriction to that effect. Most RF licenses specifically prohibit uses for retail product use like posters or prints - but who ever heard of a photo-buyer buying RF *** and*** reading the license. If you sell as stock through RM, you can include in your contract a provision that prohibits the sale of any of your images where the use would be considered a "photographic" reproduction. The best advice is to contact your stock agent(s) directly about your concerns. I guarantee you they've all been asked the same question before, so no need to feel stupid for asking,

Hope that helps.

Thank you all friends for the very useful information !

I am not sure Carson's point has been dealt with - would the buyers of a limited edition print perceive that selling the same image as stock makes the notion of 'limited edition' a bit meaningless?