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Leasing Photos For Product Uses

Ninety percent of new products fail for a variety of reasons. When photographs are an inherent part of the product it is often difficult to decide what to charge for the use. When a product is first being designed and launched it is impossible to determine how successful it will be. Often product developers are under funded. Here's an explanation of how leasing rather than a one-time licensing fee may be the answer to making the sale.

ImageState To Close – Again!

Imagestate Media Ltd and Imagestate Media Partners Ltd has ceased trading through its website and as of February 1, 2012 has entered Administration. The assets of the above companies have been acquired by a new investor. The ongoing business of Imagestate will be managed by Impact Photos. Heritage Images will operate separately.

Copyright: An Idea vs A Visual Representation Of The Idea

In the U.S. it is possible to copyright a specific visual representation of a concept, not the concept itself. In what may be a precedent setting decision in the Patents County Court in London His honour Judge Birss QC has decided that a concept, or visual technique can also be copyrighted.

Shutterstock Surpasses 200 Million Global Stock Image Downloads

Shutterstock (www.shutterstock.com) has delivered more than 200 million licensed image downloads to its customers since its founding in 2004. This number far exceeds that of any other company licensing rights to stock photography. The company’s closest competitor in the microstock arena is iStockphoto. According to the latest figures from istockcharts.multimedia.de iStock has licensed 116,134,740+ downloads. (The + probably represents a few thousands above this number.)

Pinterest.com And Copyright

There’s a lot of buzz on the Internet about a new “social media” site Pinterest.com. It is designed to let people organize and share pictures they find on the web. “People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.” Users can browse pinboards created by others, discover new things and get inspiration from people who share their interests -- all without paying a penny to use the pictures.

Arius3D Agreement To Acquire Masterfile Extended Again

Arius3D Corp. and Masterfile Corporation have agreed to extend to March 31, 2012 the closing of the previously announced proposed acquisition by Arius3D of all of the issued and outstanding securities of Masterfile.

Floor Price For RM

Recently, a stock agent suggested that the industry needs to establish a floor price for Rights Managed (RM) images to stop the continued decline in license fees. He is frustrated because his overseas distributors seem to be making an increasing volume of sales at prices that are “close to microstock pricing.”

From Printed Textbooks To iPads

In an effort to go after a share of the $15 billion educational textbook market Apple Inc. has launched iBooks2 software with an aim to quicken the adoption of the iPad in the educational market. The company has been working with Pearson, McGraw-Hill and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to produce digital textbooks that can be delivered on the iPad. Currently, these three companies are responsible for 90% of the textbooks sold in the US.

How Will Mobile Devices Change The Photography Market?

Mobile communication is rapidly changing the way the world gets information. More and more of the information we need will be delivered via mobile devices. This shift is likely to change the demand for visual materials. Here are some things to consider as you plan for the future.

Online Ad Spending

According to an eMarketer study in 2012 U.S. marketers are expected to spend more on online advertising than on newspaper and magazine ads combined. Marketers are expected to spend $39.5 billion this year compared to $33.8 billion on print.

Cordon Press Acquires Latinstock Spain

Cordón Press (www.cordonpress.com), Spain’s number one editorial agency, has just
announced the acquisition of Latinstock Spain (www.latinstock.es) for an undisclosed amount.

SOPA And PIPA Legislation Postponed

Earlier today Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would delay a cloture vote on the Protect IP (Intellectual Property) Act (PIPA) bill and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) announced he will postpone further action on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). On January 14th the White House’s announced its refusal to support the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

Fine Art Photographers Take Aim At Commercial Market

Fotolia has added 3128 fine art images from the deviantART (dA) collection to its offering. (Click here to see the images.) The images are available exclusively at Fotolia.com. Learn more about the deviantART site and what it offers Fine Art photographers.

Adapting To Changing Business Ethics

It seems to me that 30 or so years ago photographers could have verbal agreements (a handshake, if you will) with others in business and both sides would feel an ethical obligation to honor the agreement.
Today, honoring agreements is often secondary to maximizing profit.

ASMP Submits Comments On Copyright Small Claims

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has submitted its comments on “Remedies for Copyright Small Claims” to the U.S. Copyright Office. The Office asked for comments related to a study it is undertaking at the request of Congress to assess whether and how the current legal system hinders or prevents copyright owners from pursuing copyright infringement claims that have a relatively small economic value. The Office also asked for potential alternatives to improve the settlement of these claims.