I have a question regarding the stock footage available in Vegas Hub. Is there an option to contact the original owner of certain footage or to purchase an exclusive license for it? I am working on a documentary film that I plan to submit to film festivals. While I understand that using stock footage generally isn’t an issue, I am concerned about licensing and potential overlap with other films or videos.

I’m currently unable to travel to the location where I need the footage from, so I’d like to use around 6 minutes of stock footage in my 35-40 minute film. My main questions are:

Do I need any additional licensing beyond what I already pay for with Vegas?

Are there options to acquire exclusive rights or remove the footage from the Vegas library to ensure uniqueness?

I would greatly appreciate your advice on the best way to proceed, as I want my film to stand out.

So I have some experience with this.

Exclusive Rights
I can confidently and categorically say NO on gaining exclusive rights, because the logistics of acquring the footage not only involves you reaching out to story blocks but also contacting original creator who'd be willing to relinquish the revenue stream he gets from Story blocks atm.


Your first and most important hurdle will be to get both of them on the table. It's simply too tasking, speaking from experience.

Then there's the impossible: The users who have already downloaded and have license to use said footage.

Commercial Rights
You are producing a Documentry. You should be fine. However, anything beyond that, you need to keep in mind the following terms.

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(From Storyblocks)

TV, Broadcast, and Feature Films

Finally, we are limiting the permitted use of our assets for campaigns and projects in TV, streaming, OTT and feature films to our Business License.  

Perpetual Use:
Anything you create and publish during your time as a Storyblocks member will be covered by the license forever. However, once your subscription ends, use of downloaded assets in future projects or campaigns that are published after the cancellation date will not be covered.

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Business Licenses can range anywhere between 5000 USD to 12,000 USD.

I sincerely doubt VEGAS is granting a business license to every user :P

So you most likely have an individual license.