Thanks. you would still need a license to use a gif unless it is copyright free, It's just a format like jpeg etc. Very old photos and films will be in the Public Domain likely. Copyright in the USA is for life + 70 years!

I've actually been with Getty for many years, but with the advent of the microstock agencies, revenues started to fall, so I diversified. LOL! Yes, I have images with Shutterstock, Adobe and Istock. I also have a few with Dreamstime and Depositphotos. You know you can get some free images at Pixabay and Unspalsh too, right? You have to be careful though, especially with people images, as you have no access to model releases. Occasionally, (surprise! surprise!) there are images on there that have been swiped from elsewhere, and the sites make it clear that it's the end user's responsibility to make sure that they are getting copyright free images.