Messages

1

Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photo Databases Duplicates?

« on: August 27, 2010, 04:27:29 PM »

One other point, when buying songs or searching for songs and downloading them, the artist is usually listed. Why don't image author's do the same?

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photo Databases Duplicates?

« on: August 27, 2010, 04:20:56 PM »

Thank you all for responding to my initial questions. The idea of not displaying, (copying and manipulating the images found),  Google or other search engine searchable images with no one listed to ask permission to use is like finding a $20.00 bill on the ground with no one in site to ask who it belongs too.   I guess, for images we can ask the image police (Getty, Corbis, ......) if we can believe their answer.  

I finely got a link to the actual Copyright Law of the United States; When reading the actual definitions listed in the document I came across  the following

"An “anonymous work” is a work on the copies or phonorecords of which no natural person is identified as author."

If you take the anonymous work definition literally, can you argue that Google, Bing and other search engines listing images after a search,  is a search of a work on the copies of which no natural person is identified as author....therefore if the images displayed (a work on the copies) after a search does not have a natural person as an identifiable author isn't it considered an anonymous work and can be viewed as displayable by anyone (Copyright yes, but know one to go too to ask permission to use the work, until the identity of one or more of the authors is revealed. )

My point is how can we use the copyright definitions in the defense for the situations listed in this forum, even if the initial intent of the definition was not for the current situations?

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photo Databases Duplicates?

« on: August 24, 2010, 07:37:26 PM »

Oscar are you referring to web search engines like Google, Bing, or other Websites other than Getty, Corbis, Masterfile, and Superstock? I thought it did not matter where you got the images, even if came from someone's personal or business website.

Let say we search Google for "big Clock" images and we download an image from that search. Since Google has the image listed, but is not linked or download from the reference agencies listed above is it ok to use it, since Google is also using the image in their database without permission or does Google fall under fair use in listing the images under a search function?

Can we use orphan images (images we don't know where they came from, and has no metadata to identify the original source of the image and listed thru Google, Bing or other search engines, other then the agencies above.  

I would assume you would sa,y if you don't know where the images came from, or if you don't have a license to use them, then create you own using your own camera or design software.

A request, if I can be so bold. Would it help folks, if you had a link to the Copyright Acts Getty is referring to, or did I miss those links somewhere on this site.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Re: Photo Databases Duplicates?

« on: August 24, 2010, 12:58:40 PM »

Attempted additional examples in locating duplicate images. My search consisted of "big clocks", and during my search efforts my thinking turned to my rational for looking for these examples. Even though there are duplicates images those images may not be the ones the agencies are going after. My suggestion is, when you receive Settlement letter from any of the image agencies , that you search the image in question on each agency's databases to determine if any of them are licensing the same image.

Whether it helps is still in question.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Photo Databases Duplicates Sample

« on: August 13, 2010, 04:27:33 PM »

Here is one sample of Corbis and GettyImages having the same image in their database.  I did check Masterfile and Superstock while writing this response. Perhaps if there is an advantage knowing this we should not disclose it.  

my descriptive search phrase: woman holding clock

Corbis image ID is 42-22936177
Corbis category; Creative  
Corbis description? Cultura

GettyImages ID is #89975042
GettyImages category: Creative
GettyImages description? Cultura

SuperStock ID is 1773R-18671
SuperStock description; woman holding big clock.

Checked Masterfile 2716 images with woman holding clock, they did not have the picture in question.

My initial search technique with Corbis and GettyImages was to open two browser screens at the respective sites and scroll down until I found an example of both sites having the same image.  I strongly believe there are more samples of duplicate images. I hope this helps in defending against settlement demands, or perhaps in a law suit.

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Getty Images Letter Forum / Photo Databases Duplicates?

« on: August 12, 2010, 05:36:52 PM »

I was researching some images I had, to determine whether they were managed by any of the following companies, Masterfile, Corbis, Superstock and Getty Images.

What I notice while looking, was some of the images managed by Getty were also found in the other companies databases. Can anyone speak to this?

How is this possible if the companies are claiming to represent they exclusively manage the images in question? Are they infringing on each other's images? Which company has the right to go after the infringer?

I'll attempt another image search and find an actual example, if it makes a difference in defending against settlement demands.