Can you sell stock footage of landmarks?

Famous landmarks, agency by agency

The table gives the status of well-known places on the three lists, read on 12 October 2026. "Restrictions apply" at Shutterstock means a commercial clip is rejected when the structure takes up a large part of the frame without a valid property release, while editorial use is generally acceptable.

The restriction lists agencies publish

Shutterstock keeps four Known Restrictions lists: architectural designs and private land, events, artwork, and trademarks and other intellectual property. Entries sit under two headings. "Restrictions apply" limits commercial use. "Prohibited" means rejection for both commercial and editorial use. Shutterstock also lists places "commonly believed to be restricted" that it accepts for commercial and editorial use: the Eiffel Tower when unlit, the Las Vegas sign, the Lincoln Memorial, Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty and Stonehenge.

Adobe Stock publishes one alphabetical page, updated on 29 September 2026, covering brands, people, objects and places. Every place entry concerns content "submitted for commercial use" and uses one of three triggers: the clip is created on the property, the place is the main focal point, or the clip is filmed inside.

Pond5 links a Prohibited Content PDF from its legal guidelines. It covers architecture, private land, trademarks, trade dress and artwork, and everything on it is rejected. Many entries match Shutterstock’s prohibited list word for word, the Eiffel Tower at night and the Disney parks among them.

The Eiffel Tower at night

The Eiffel Tower is the case most contributors meet first. Its operator, the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), says images taken during the day are in the public domain and can be used freely without its authorization. The lighting is another matter: SETE lists the golden illumination, the twinkling lights, the beacon and event lighting as protected, and says any professional use of images showing the illuminated tower requires prior authorization, possibly against a fee.

The agencies follow that line. Shutterstock and Pond5 both list "Eiffel Tower at Night (Pierre Bideau’s Lighting Design)" as prohibited, so a night clip is rejected even as editorial. Adobe refuses commercial content that shows the illumination and lighting designs as the main focal point. A daytime clip of the tower needs no special handling at any of the three, beyond the usual rules on people and logos in the frame.

The blue hour sits in between. Once the lights are on, the clip shows the lighting design, whatever the sky looks like. Adobe’s entry turns on the main focal point, but the Shutterstock and Pond5 entries are prohibitions with no size threshold. If you want a dusk shot of Paris to stay sellable on all three, end it before the tower lights up.

The Atomium and other protected designs

The Atomium in Brussels is prohibited at Shutterstock and Pond5, and Adobe refuses commercial content where it is the main focal point. Atomium asbl, which runs the monument, says permission is needed for "all kinds of uses, whether for commercial purposes or for non-profit use", through a request platform on its site, with an answer within two weeks. It also forbids using the Atomium’s image or name in a logo, brand or company name.

Other designs are treated the same way. Pond5’s list includes, among others, the Louvre Museum, La Grande Arche de la Défense, the Pompidou Center, Sacré-Cœur, Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao and New York, the Millau Viaduct and the Villa Savoye. Shutterstock’s prohibited list shares many of them, including the Louvre, the Grande Arche and both Guggenheims, and adds Neuschwanstein Castle. Bridges count: both lists cover "the bridges" as well as the exteriors and interiors of the buildings named.

Buildings: framing, interiors and releases

Shutterstock’s intellectual property standards set the default: exteriors of buildings, bridges and other architecture are "generally acceptable without a property release" for commercial use. A building on the Restrictions apply list is rejected only when it "takes up a large portion of the frame" without a valid property release, and its interior needs a release. A wide city shot where the Empire State Building is one tower among many is a different clip from a slow push-in on its facade.

Adobe’s wording points to three distinct risks, each with its own examples:

• Main focal point: the Hollywood Sign, the Atomium, the Reichstag dome, the Eiffel Tower lighting.
• Created on the property: the Sydney Opera House, the Space Needle, the Shard, Tokyo Skytree. The wording targets filming on the grounds; a view from outside the site does not match it, though moderators still decide.
• Created inside: the Colosseum, the Sagrada Família, Notre-Dame de Paris, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Adobe’s property release overview also lists "famous landmarks, historic locations, and modern architecture" among the subjects that can need a release, and advises: "When in doubt, obtain a property release or consider editing the image to omit protected elements." How releases work at each agency is covered in property releases for stock video.

Theme parks, ticketed venues and parks

Theme parks are the clearest no. Disney resort and theme park buildings and grounds are prohibited at Shutterstock and Pond5; Pond5 adds Busch Gardens. Adobe refuses commercial content created on Disney theme park property or showing a park as the main focal point, and lists SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo with the "on the property" trigger.

Ticketed places carry a general rule. Pond5 says any content produced inside a venue that charges admission, such as a stadium, arena, concert hall, opera, cinema or museum, requires a release, and that all ticketed events need a release or permit. Adobe names stadiums, museums, concert venues and amusement parks among properties with photography policies.

Public parks can surprise you. Pond5 prohibits the grounds of Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Greenwich Park, the Regent’s Park and Richmond Park in London, and of National Trust properties in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Stonehenge excepted). Adobe lists the Royal Gardens of Great Britain and Brazil’s national parks. A drone flight over a park raises the same question, plus the flight rules in selling drone footage.

Commercial or editorial?

The trademark list adds a trap for keywords. Shutterstock lists the Hollywood Sign, the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Lone Cypress as trademarks: commercial clips showing them are rejected for Visible Trademark and/or Title/Keyword Trademark, so naming them in commercial metadata can be enough. As editorial, they are generally acceptable. The caption format and the other editorial rules are in editorial stock footage; logos on buildings and signs are in logos and trademarks in stock footage.

Before you film a landmark

• Search the three lists under the place’s local and English names.
• Check the hour, the spot and the framing: lit or unlit, on the grounds or outside, main subject or one element among many.
• Do not film inside a ticketed or listed interior without a release or permit.
• Pick commercial or editorial before you upload, and keep trademarked names out of commercial titles and keywords.

A release does not guarantee acceptance. Shutterstock and Pond5 both reserve the right to reject content even with a valid property release, so a prohibited entry stays prohibited. For the other refusal reasons, see why stock footage gets rejected.