Pinterest New Relationship With Getty Images

[soccy]

I am submitting this as a potential red flag. I received a notice from Pinterest about a new arrangement with Getty Images. I am wondering if I should close my Pinterest account. This is the information that Pinterest put out about it:

We’re constantly challenging ourselves to make Pinterest better. One thing we’ve found is that the more we know about a pin, the more valuable we can make it for you. That’s why we’ve been working with partners to get more data into Pinterest to help us make recommendations, make pins more useful, and even offer notifications when prices drop. Today, we are excited to announce a partnership with Getty Images to learn more about the images you pin.

Getty Images is one of the industry’s best and broadest collections of imagery created by a community of hundreds of thousands of contributors. Their collection not only includes great images but also data about each image. This can include who took the image, when, where, and what’s in the picture. We think this will be really valuable, especially when pin descriptions and links are as not as helpful as we’d hope.

For example, you may stumble across a pin of a delicious dish that strikes you as something you might like to make someday. Unfortunately, if the original pinner uploaded the image and skimped on the description or if the link is broken, we probably couldn’t tell you that it’s scallops with brussels sprouts, chorizo and mustard fondue. Also, if you searched for “scallops with brussels sprouts,” we wouldn’t know that this great image by Getty Images contributor Thomas Barwick is a match. With Getty Images’ help, we hope to be able to make this image more useful and suggest another recipe with scallops and brussels sprouts or healthy scallop recipes.

As part of our agreement, we’ll pay Getty Images a fee for the data they share and will help make sure that their images get proper attribution. We’re just getting started with Getty Images but we’re excited about the possibilities of what their data can help us deliver. Stay tuned for updates!

I do not want to overreact but I do not trust Getty. Go figure! So thoughts about this would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

My immediate thoughts would be Pinterest is doing this to avoid being sued by Getty Images for infringing on image Getty "claims" are theirs. While at the same time this will allow Getty Images to send out thousands upon thousands of new letters.. Pinterest has already changed their TOS to leave the pinner on the hook for any infringements, this will just help Getty expand their racket.  We should follow this closely to see exactly what transpires in the future..

[Lettered]

My guess is that Pinterest had to do this to stay in business, otherwise Getty would have gone after their users (or flooded them with takedown requests) which would have caused them to shut down. This (or something similar) is just my hunch.
I really, really doubt that Getty will go after a Pinterest user for pinning now.  In my view, they are now explicitly licensing their entire catalog for this specific use with this agreement.
I'd be surprised if a Pinterest user got a demand letter for pinning a Getty Image now. Not shocked, but surprised for sure.

And of course it has photographers and illustrators that want to be compensated for their images getting used. Getty says that it will be sharing the fee with its contributors (that is, those photographers and illustrators) — which means that this deal closes up another awkward copyright hole for Pinterest.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/25/pinterest-inks-deal-with-getty-images-will-pay-a-fee-for-the-photo-agencys-metadata/

[lucia]

I'm wondering how the copyright owners (i.e. photographers) feel about this. Are they going to be paid when their image is "pinned"?  If they are, they might think it's fine. If not, many will be pretty pissed off.

[stinger]

My bet is that Getty gets paid for their contract with Pinterest, but the photogs get the shaft.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

I remember one user a while back that contacted the artist over his letter and tried to plead his case of innocent infringement with him.  He said the artist told him the contract put the matter out of his hands and beside he wouldn't see a penny out of it anyway. 

This might be one of the reasons why Getty guards their contracts so closely.  They don't want it publicly know how bad their artists are screwed over. 

I'm wondering how the copyright owners (i.e. photographers) feel about this. Are they going to be paid when their image is "pinned"?  If they are, they might think it's fine. If not, many will be pretty pissed off.

[Lettered]

According to this article, Getty claims it will compensate the artists.  Whether that is true, and whether the compensation will be a significant percentage of the revenue that Pinterest pays Getty ... I don't know.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/25/pinterest-inks-deal-with-getty-images-will-pay-a-fee-for-the-photo-agencys-metadata/

And of course it has photographers and illustrators that want to be compensated for their images getting used. Getty says that it will be sharing the fee with its contributors (that is, those photographers and illustrators) — which means that this deal closes up another awkward copyright hole for Pinterest.

[crazycatlady]

Did anyone else catch this quote in the TechCrunch piece? I keep thinking of all the people sharing here who posted sample sites for college projects and what not. This is a direct quote from Getty's CEO: 

"As Getty Images co-founder and CEO Jonathan Klein laid out for us last year, this was something that the company was gearing up to address.

“We’re comfortable with people using our images to build traffic,” he said. “The point in time when they have a business model, they have to have some sort of license.”

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/25/pinterest-inks-deal-with-getty-images-will-pay-a-fee-for-the-photo-agencys-metadata/

[Robert Krausankas (BuddhaPi)]

Oh we caught it, he's on video when he says it..total asshat..

[lucy]

First Flickr, now Pinterest ... The Getty scourge has infected the interwebs. My policy is now to use my own photos or nothing at all.

[Greg Troy (KeepFighting)]

That's my policy now too lucy.

First Flickr, now Pinterest ... The Getty scourge has infected the interwebs. My policy is now to use my own photos or nothing at all.