Getty and PhotoDisc Form New Company
SEATTLE - Getty Communications and PhotoDisc have joined forces, becoming Getty Images Inc. Announcement of the merger came in mid-September. The new company immediately becomes the largest player in the visual content industry, pooling the offerings of Energy Film Library (stock footage), Hulton Getty (photo archive), Liaison Agency (news and photojournalism images), PhotoDisc (royalty-free stock photography) and Tony Stone Images (contemporary stock photography). Seattle-based PhotoDisc pioneered the marketing of high-resolution, royalty-free digital images on CD-ROM and on the Internet. Immediate initiatives, drawing on the expertise of both businesses, include the creation of a new division, which will apply leading-edge technology to accelerate the digital delivery of Getty Images' visual content. In a joint statement, Mark Getty, chairman of Getty Communications, and Mark Torrance, PhotoDisc's chairman and CEO, said, "In our fast-changing industry, this agreement is the first concrete evidence that the marriage of high-quality content to rapid digital delivery over the Internet is a commercial reality. This presents Getty Images with what we believe is an enormous opportunity to take advantage of the many synergies between the businesses." Tony Stone, president of Tony Stone Images, said, "Getty Images has an imaginative strategy based on differentiation between its brands, In the case of Tony Stone Images, that translates into a sharp refocus on its brand image: the number one agency for creative imagery in the rights-protected model. Our clients will [find] Š technically superior photography more accessible than ever before."
Corporate Reorganization
Corbis Names Co-Presidents
BELLEVUE, WA - Steve Davis and Anthony Rojas became co-presidents of Corbis in May with the resignation of CEO Doug Rowan. Rowan left when Corbis shifted emphasis from an editorial-image archive to a commercial-market focus. The new presidents will divide managerial duties. Davis will preside over product development, sales and marketing. Rojas will continue to oversee operations and content acquisition. As part of the new direction, Corbis stopped production of the Ansel Adams CD because of lagging sales. Production of Roger Ressmeyer's Volcanoes also was suspended.
Marketing
MIRA Markets CD
NEW YORK - The first CD from the Media Image Resource Alliance (MIRA), featuring more than 5,000 images from 180 members of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), was released last summer. In the making for more than five years, the new CD is hoped to change the way photo buyers work with top professionals in the field. MIRA is geared to the photographer, according to spokesperson Gregg von Sternberg. MIRA retains a 30 percent commission on sales, returning the remaining 70 percent to the artists. MIRA suggests prices, but individual photographers are free to set their own. "MIRA is the wave of the future," stated Victor Englebert, a professional photographer. "Everything is going to be digital and on the Internet." Most stock agencies, including Tony Stone Images and The Image Bank, are already producing CD and Internet stock-search resources.
Legal Matters
Freelancers Battle AP
New York - A lawsuit filed here seeks to clarify copyright law on freelance photographs and asks for an injunction prohibiting the Associated Press from requiring photographers to transfer ownership before receiving assignments. It goes to U.S. District Court this fall. The suit was filed by three freelance photographers and the National Association of Freelance Photographers. They are asking for $200,000 in recompense and a ruling on the future activities of AP. Vincent Alabiso, AP vice president and photo editor, stated the "AP has always treated their photographers fairly and professionally."
Last year, AP asked freelancers to sign a copyright agreement turning over all future photo rights to AP, but withdrew it, at least temporarily, after widespread protest. AP wants the court to dismiss the claim, and is counter-suing the freelancers, stating that AP, not the photographers, owns the photographs it buys. Hearings will begin after briefs have been filed and reviewed.
Leibovitz Appeals Fair-Use Ruling
NEW YORK CITY - Paramount Pictures won a federal court decision over the "implied" use of an Annie Leibovitz's picture of a naked and pregnant Demi Moore, which she originally shot for the cover of Vanity Fair. Paramount hired a female model to duplicate Moore's pose, then grafted on the head of Leslie Neilson for a Naked Gun 33 1/3 publicity campaign. Based on four tests of fair-use U.S. copyright law, the court found Paramount in the right on three of the four issues. In her appeal, Leibovitz states the court did not comment correctly on the issues, and Paramount's use was copyright infringement, not a parody as they claimed.
Crosier Settles
SEATTLE - Two copyright infringement cases brought by David Crosier, a Seattle commercial photographer, were recently settled out of court. The case concerned the photograph of a clock which was reproduced almost exactly like the image Crosier originally created. Two companies used the near-duplicate copies without permission or payment. Crosier stated that the reason this lawsuit was settled was that he "educated himself on infringement, especially on the potential repercussions and penalties if asked to duplicate somebody's work."
PhotoMedia Group Wins Judgment
SEATTLE - The PhotoMedia Group, Inc., publisher of PhotoMedia magazine and former producer of PhotoMedia Expo in Seattle, has been awarded a judgment for an undisclosed amount against PhotoProExpo, Inc., of Norwalk, Conn., producers of PhotoProExpo in Washington, DC. The judgment concluded a dispute arising from the sale of PhotoMedia Expo, an annual three-day photo industry exposition held in Seattle since 1993. It was sold to PhotoProExpo in 1996. The dispute arose over alleged breach of contract by PhotoProExpo and was settled by arbitration before a representative of the American Arbitration Association. The arbitrator found that PhotoProExpo, Inc., had materially breached the agreement by failing to make scheduled payments to The PhotoMedia Group and did not fulfill other obligations in the agreement. He awarded The PhotoMedia Group a judgment for all claims sought. Additionally, Gary Halpern, president of The PhotoMedia Group, was released from a non-compete provision that was part of the agreement.
Education
PCN Opens Doors
SEATTLE - Just in time for the fall quarter, the newly accredited Photographic Center Northwest (PCN) opened its doors at 12th and Marion on First Hill in September. The first part of the building's total renovation holds a gallery, classrooms, darkroom facilities, a conference room and offices. Further work will include two additional floors. The school continues to hold quarter-length classes leading to a certificate in photography and mini-workshops for the public. Darkroom facilities will be open to students and the public through memberships. Founder Alin Shethar states that putting the two former separate facilities under one roof is a dream come true. An open house is scheduled for Friday, November 7.
Galleries
Vintage Photos Bequeathed to PAM
PORTLAND, OR - Portland Art Museum has received 164 vintage photographs in the bequest of Dr. Fae Heath Batten. Valued at $400,000, the photographs constitute the largest single contribution ever made to the museum's permanent collection of photography. Among the photographers represented are: Matthew Brady, Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothea Lange, Carlton Watkins, Edward Curtis, and Richard Misrach.
Photo Ops
News of Interest to Your Business
U.S. News and World Report Sports New Look
NEW YORK - For the last six months photo editor MaryAnne Golon has been creating a new look in US News and World Report. Golon has looked beyond the stock photographer, added assignment work, hired many new contract photographers and opened the door to freelancers. She has encouraged a more creative style in assignments, calling it "interpretive photography," and is working on developing photo essays. "The bottom line," states an enthusiastic Golon, "is that these new ideas and efforts will create larger subscription and sales bases, and thus open the doors for more cutting-edge, current, creative photography from a variety of photographers."
Digital-Arts Residency Established
SEATTLE - Richard Andrews, director of the Henry Art Gallery, and Fidelma McGin, director of 911 Media Arts Center, announced they have received a grant from King County to develop a digital-artists-in-residency that pairs four visual artists working in traditional media with four digital artists who have expertise with new technologies. The results of the collaboration will be shown at the Henry in 1998. Preston Wadley will represent the photography segment.
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