Engineering and architecture
Licensed imagery and basemaps in GIS project files: what you can't pass on
By SourceX Editorial · Reviewed by Noah Loul ·
Short answer
Licensed imagery redistribution is generally restricted, so commercial satellite and aerial imagery, streamed basemaps and client-supplied rasters stay out of any dataset a GIS or survey firm licenses. Firm-collected survey points, drone imagery the firm controls and its own vector work may qualify, but features traced from licensed imagery need a derived-product check first.
Key takeaways
- Default rule: licensed imagery and basemaps stay out of any dataset, whatever folder they sit in.
- A GIS project can copy licensed rasters into packages, caches and exported maps, not just reference them.
- Vector features digitized from licensed imagery may be limited by derived-product clauses in the imagery license.
- Public domain imagery is easier to clear but adds little value, because anyone can obtain it.
- Firm-flown drone imagery and field survey data are candidates only if client contracts and privacy allow.
Can a GIS firm pass on licensed imagery?#
A GIS firm generally cannot pass licensed imagery or basemaps on to a third party, so the working rule is that they stay out of any licensed dataset. Imagery providers license use to a named organization, project or number of users, and the terms typically restrict redistribution, resale and inclusion in products made for others.
The rule holds even when the imagery is woven through the firm's work. A utility mapping project may sit on top of a commercial orthomosaic, and every exported figure shows it, but the pixels still belong to the provider and reach the firm only under license.
What a firm can consider licensing is its own work: survey observations, attribute data it collected in the field, vector layers built from its own sources and the project records that show how its staff made decisions.
Source types and typical redistribution limits#
Redistribution limits differ by source, and a single project can hold several. The table shows typical positions for each source type; the license or contract behind each source controls the real answer.
Terms also change over time. A county layer downloaded under one set of terms may be offered under different ones today, and which version governs the copy in your archive is a question for counsel. Keep a dated copy of the terms with each source so that question can be answered later.
| Source | Typical position | Default in a dataset |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial satellite imagery | Licensed to a named organization or project; redistribution restricted | Exclude |
| Commercial aerial or orthophotos from a vendor | Vendor or the commissioning client controls rights | Exclude unless rights were transferred to the firm |
| Streamed basemap services | Platform terms govern display, caching and export | Exclude; note only which service was used |
| Federal agency imagery | Often public domain; confirm the specific product | Clearable, but low value because it is reproducible |
| State, county and city orthoimagery | Ranges from open data to licensed with conditions | Check each source's terms |
| Client-supplied imagery and layers | Client's license or client's property | Exclude |
| Firm-flown drone imagery | Firm or client, depending on the contract | Candidate if contract and privacy allow |
| Open data with attribution or share-alike terms | Conditions travel with the data and its derivatives | Check compatibility with the planned license |
- 01Your work records
- 02Personal details removed
- 03You approve the release
- 04Licensed to AI developers
How licensed content travels inside project files#
Licensed content travels inside GIS project files in more ways than a layer list suggests, so excluding the imagery folder rarely removes it. A project file may only reference a raster, but packaging, caching and exporting copy that raster into many other files.
Search for these by file type and by the name of each imagery source, then confirm with the project manager what each project actually used. Attribution text on exported maps is a useful search target, because it names the source a figure depends on.
- Project packages and map packages that bundle data copies with the project.
- Tile caches and offline basemaps created for field tablets.
- Exported PDFs, images and plotted sheets with imagery backgrounds.
- CAD drawings with raster references or embedded images.
- Screenshots pasted into reports, proposals and emails.
- Clipped or mosaicked rasters saved to project working folders.
Are features you digitized from imagery yours?#
Features digitized from licensed imagery are the firm's work product, but the imagery license may still limit what the firm can do with them. Many imagery agreements include clauses on derived or value-added products that permit some uses, require attribution or restrict distribution of outputs that could substitute for the source.
Read that clause before treating traced footprints or classified land cover as free to license. Record the source imagery for every derived layer in its metadata; without that record, a reviewer cannot tell which layers are clean.
| Derived layer | Question to answer | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Building footprints traced from imagery | Does the license restrict distribution of derived vectors? | Hold until the clause is read |
| Land cover or impervious surface classifications | Could the output substitute for the source imagery? | Hold; often restricted |
| Survey points checked against imagery | Were the points collected in the field by the firm? | Candidate; imagery was only a reference |
| Attributes recorded during field inspection | Did the firm gather them independently? | Candidate, subject to the client contract |
Illustrative: a survey and GIS firm cleans a utility mapping archive#
Illustrative: a fictional survey and GIS firm maps underground utilities for industrial campuses and private developers. Its archive holds GNSS survey points, field inspection forms, drone orthomosaics from its own flights, county parcel layers, a commercial satellite subscription and project files built on a streamed basemap.
The owner sets the rule first: no third-party raster leaves the building. Satellite scenes, basemap caches and county layers are excluded. Exported figures are dropped because each one shows licensed imagery. Drone orthomosaics are held back because some flights captured neighboring yards and the client contracts are silent on reuse.
What remains is the firm's own work: inspection forms, condition notes, survey points with quality flags and the internal QA log showing how field crews resolved mismatches between record drawings and conditions on the ground. That package goes to rights review with every imagery source documented as excluded.
A clean-out procedure before any export#
A clean-out procedure should run before any export and leave a written record. Doing it after files are staged for review risks copies slipping through in packages or exported maps.
Leave the working archive intact while you do this. The clean-out builds a separate review copy rather than deleting anything, because the firm may still need the full project files, imagery included, for its professional record and any later questions about the work.
- List every imagery, basemap and raster source used across projects, with its license or contract.
- Search project folders for raster formats, packages, tile caches and exported maps.
- Remove third-party rasters and any file that embeds or displays them.
- Check derived vector layers against each source's derived-product clause.
- Review firm-flown imagery for client restrictions and visible private property or people.
- Record what was removed, from where and under which source terms.
How SourceX handles mapping and imagery records#
SourceX excludes third-party imagery and basemaps by default. In the Rights step of the SourceX five-step transaction, each raster and layer source is checked against its license, and only the firm's own observations, attributes and workflow records move on to Preparation.
The SourceX Evidence Packet records provenance, licensing rights, permitted use, the privacy record and release authorization for what proceeds, including the list of excluded imagery sources. Large mapping archives stay in the firm's own storage or ship on encrypted drives, because SourceX does not host multi-terabyte datasets.
Frequently asked questions
Can we include low-resolution screenshots of licensed imagery?
Lower resolution does not usually change the license position. Terms commonly restrict reproduction outside permitted use regardless of size. If a figure is needed to explain a record, recreate it without the imagery background or leave it out.
Does public domain imagery have any value in a dataset?
Public domain imagery is easy to clear, but because anyone can download it, it adds little to a licensed dataset. Its main use is as context for the firm's own observations. The value lies in what staff recorded and decided, not in the imagery layer itself.
What if the client paid for the imagery?
Client-commissioned imagery belongs to the client or remains under the vendor's license to the client, depending on the purchase terms. Either way, the firm usually holds it only to perform the project. Treat it as client material and exclude it unless the client and, where needed, the vendor agree in writing.
Does deleting the attribution line on a map solve the problem?
No. Attribution shows that a figure depends on licensed or open content, and removing it would not remove the underlying restriction. It may also breach the license. Treat attribution lines as a search aid that flags figures for review, not as something to strip out.
Who should run the imagery review inside the firm?
A GIS lead who knows which subscriptions and services the firm used should run the search, with a principal or counsel reading the license terms. Project managers confirm what each project used. Splitting the work this way keeps technical discovery and legal judgment with the right people.
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