Manage usage rights

Media files such as images or videos are often protected by usage rights. In censhare, you can restrict the use, editing, and sale of media files by time, region, and publication channel.

What's new

Available as of censhare 2018.1.

With censhare 2018.3, the usability was enhanced. It is possible to create usage rights sets and assign them to multiple assets in one go.

Context

You manage usage rights for media assets in censhare Web, on the Rights tab of an open media asset. To download a media file, users must first acknowledge that they accept the rights. Acknowledgment data is stored in the censhare database.

Prerequisites

The distribution channels and the regions to define usage rights must exist in the system.

Usage rights can be set for media assets only.
The Rights tab must be available on the asset page.
The publication channels and the regions to define usage rights must exist in the system.
Languages for which you want to add information must be defined in the system.

Introduction

You can define and store usage rights for media assets that are uploaded to censhare Web. All media asset types and subtypes in censhare can be subject to usage rights. For example, images, videos, audio, 3D models or layouts.

Usage rights sets

With usage rights sets, you can bundle a number of usage rights into one asset. You can then easily assign the usage rights set an asset to multiple media assets simultaneously.

Notifications

When you set usage rights, users are notified about the restrictions when they download media files from censhare Web. Users must acknowledge the usage rights first before they download the file.

The definition of usage rights is for user-information purposes only. There is no mechanism to monitor or control whether the usage rights are applied and followed at all.

Auditing

Auditing information about the downloaded media files and the users who download the files are logged in the censhare database.

Usage rights types

You can assign several types of usage rights.

Publication rights

When you assign publication rights, you can add a notification for users. You can add translations for the notifications in the languages that are defined for your system. You can set the following options for publication rights:

Publication generally allowed.
Publication generally prohibited.
Usage rights restricted to internal use.
Publication allowed depending on channels.
You can define a validity period and specific regions where the publication rights for a channel are considered.

Editing rights

You can define a validity period and specific regions where the rights to edit a media file are considered.

Selling rights

You can define a validity period and specific regions where the rights to sell a media file are considered.

Usage rights options

Option	Value	Description
Usage rights	All rights	Media can be used without any restrictions. Users are not asked to acknowledge any usage rights.
	Channels	Media can be published on specific channels. Opens a section to select channels. Publication rights based on channels can be restricted to specific validity periods and regions.
	Internal use	Media can be used internally.
	Prohibited	Media cannot be published at all.
Channels	All channels	Media can be published on all channels. Note: The channels that you can select here depend on your censhare configuration. Not all channels mentioned may be available to you.
	Mobile	Media can be published on the Mobile channel.
	Online	Media can be published on the Online channel.
	Print	Media can be published on the Print channel.
Editing		Editing rights for media can be restricted to specific validity periods and regions.
	Allowed	Media can be edited.
	Not allowed	Media cannot be edited.
Selling		Selling rights for media can be restricted to specific validity periods and regions.
	Allowed	Media can be sold.
	Licensing	Media can be sold with a valid license.
	Not allowed	Media cannot be sold.
Description (localized)		Enter notifications for users in different languages for the selected usage right.
Validity		For individual usage rights: Define individual validity periods for rights based on channels, for editing or selling for the current media asset. For usage rights sets: When you assign a usage right set to the current media asset, define a validity period for this set. Select a start and end date for the validity period. Usage rights with Unlimited validity never expire.
Region		Select the regions in which the selected usage right is applicable.
Usage rights set		Optionally, assign sets of usage rights for the current media asset. If you do, you need to define a validity period for this set too.

Display usage rights

Search for Media or Usage rights set assets: The List view and Column view of the search result page provides some information about the usage rights of the asset.

Display comprehensive information as follows:

Open a Media asset or Usage rights set asset in an asset page: the information displays on the Rights tab, in the Usage rights widget.
In the Usage rights documents widget, documents with additional usage rights information may be assigned.
For a Usage rights set asset: On the Overview tab, in the Usage rights set of widget, you see the assets to which the usage rights apply.

Set usage rights

Follow these steps to set usage rights for an open asset. For the respective options, see Usage rights options above.

Open the Media asset and go to the Rights tab.
In the Usage rights widget, click
. The Usage rights dialog opens.
Select the desired Usage right option.
Optionally, in Description enter a user notification for the respective usage right. Select the language. Click + to add notifications in further languages as needed.
If you select Channel as Usage rights option, select the allowed publication channel under Channel. Define a validity period and the regions that are considered. Repeat for as many channels as needed.
Select the rights for Editing as needed. Define a validity period and the regions that are considered.
Select the rights for Selling as needed. Define a validity period and the regions that are considered.
Optionally, in Description enter a user notification for the respective usage right. Select the language. Click the + icon and add notifications in further languages as needed for each usage right area.
If needed, under Usage rights sets, select a set of usage rights that are applied to the current Media asset. The set bundles several usage rights in one asset. The set must exist in the system.
Select a validity period for the Usage rights set.
Optionally, on the Usage rights documents widget, link documents with further usage right information for the current asset.
Save your settings.

Delete usage rights

To delete usage rights:

Open the Media or Usage rights set asset and go to the Rights tab.
In the Usage rights widget, click
. The Usage rights dialog opens.
To delete a selection or text field, click
or
.
If you click
in the top Usage rights field, all other fields except for Usage rights sets are removed, too. As long as you do not click OK, these fields are restored, if you select the according entry in the top selection list again.
Save your settings.

Create usage rights sets

You can create a set of usage rights in one asset. This helps you to easily assign the set to multiple media assets simultaneously.

If users should be able to download and share assets via links, ensure that you set the respective usage right property values directly in the usage rights on the relevant assets. Do not only set the property values in usage rights set as the set is not interpreted as expected.

Note: As of censhare 2018.3, the usage rights sets are related as asset references to a media asset. If you update to censhare 2018.3 from a previous version, the relations are automatically converted into asset references with the database update.

Create an asset with the Usage right set asset type.
Open the asset and go to the Rights tab.
In the Usage rights widget, click
. The Usage rights dialog opens.
Select the desired usage rights and complete the steps in Set usage rights.
If needed, edit the properties of multiple sets or copy the properties from one set to another.

Assign usage rights sets to multiple assets

To assign usage rights sets to multiple assets:

Open the Usage rights set asset and go to the Overview tab.
In the Usage rights set of widget, add the media assets to which you want to assign the set.
To check the result, open a Media asset to which you assigned the usage right set.
On the Rights tab of the Media asset page, the usage rights set with all properties that you defined displays in the Usage rights widget.
To define a specific validity period for the usage right set for the current Media asset, select
. The usage right set that you assigned displays. Select start and end date for the validity period or select Unlimited.
Save your changes.

Information for auditing

Information about the media that is downloaded and the user who does the download are logged in the censhare database. The information is stored in the "audit_log" database.table.

Note: This table is not accessible from censhare Web. If you need to access it but do not have the appropriate permissions, contact your administrator.

The "audit_log" table stores the following information:

censhare ID of the user
censhare ID of the main role of the user
timestamp of the download
censhare ID of the asset from which the file was downloaded
censhare file type of the downloaded file. For example, "master" for the master file of an asset, "idml" for an InDesign file in IDML format, or "thumbnail" for a thumbnail image
file name of the file as it appears in the storage system for asset files
usage rights that are assigned to the asset, as XML data

Result

The media asset contains the appropriate usage right information. The usage rights information can be seen in the Usage rights widget on the Rights tab of the asset page. If users want to download a file referenced to this asset, they must acknowledge the usage rights. This acknowledgment is stored in the censhare database.