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[Key]Words: Stock Essentials
SAA's Guide to the Business of Stock PhotographyThis complimentary ezine provides an introduction to essential stock photography business principles and practices, and offers you 50 pages of definitions, insights, resources and visual inspiration from SAA members who share their expertise about all aspects of the industry.
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SAA White Paper Report: Infringements
Read the Report here or Download the PDF
Infringements of Stock Images
and Lost Revenues
September 2007
Introduction
Nearly all aspects of the stock photography business have been transformed in the past decade. Film-based capture and overnight delivery of analog images have been replaced by digital images and electronic delivery. High-speed databases and broadband internet connections have made it easy to market, sell and deliver images anywhere in the world- all with the press of a button.
In addition, the internet has brought a major shift in how and where images are used. Print uses are declining and new media uses-such as online and portable devices-are proliferating. In the future, the stock photo industry will rely more heavily on revenues from these new media formats and non-traditional licensing models.
Along with the opportunities of the new digital age, significant challenges for the stock industry have also emerged. One challenge in particular is not yet fully appreciated, although we think this challenge also creates an opportunity for photographers, image distributors and industry groups to create new customers, new markets and new revenue streams.
Easy online access to millions of stock images has also made them extremely susceptible to theft and misuse. With just a click and a drag, users can move a digital file from any web site onto their desktop-without payment or license. Although images sourced this way are typically low-resolution, they are often good enough. High resolution is traded for an unbeatably low price-free.
In addition to outright piracy, digital media have also increased the potential for legitimately licensed images to be used outside the scope of the original license. Once downloaded, image files can be easily repurposed and redistributed to other users. File names are commonly changed and identifying metadata is stripped or altered, making these images vulnerable to misuse.
This paper addresses how and why the stock photo industry is subject to this theft; we also try to gauge the size of the problem. We describe what is being done now, obstacles to overcome, and suggest additional steps to minimize piracy of stock images, protect our copyrights, and maximize revenue opportunities for photographers and the distributors of their images.
The Size of the Problem
To learn more about the extent of the infringement problem, the Stock Artists Alliance teamed up with PicScout, a company that uses advanced visual recognition technology to track images on the web. Starting with a repository of copyrighted images, PicScout crawls the web to find matches and the technology is able to reliably identify unauthorized usages.
In 2003, SAA became aware that PicScout had begun searching commercial web sites for the Rights Managed images of several major stock collections and uncovered a shocking rate of abuse-nine out of every ten images they found were unauthorized uses.
This suggested a staggering loss of potential licensing revenue to those companies-and to copyright holders. PicScout further observed that these infringements could be classified into two general categories-inadvertent misuse and intentional theft. While some customers exceeded legitimate licenses, a large fraction of cases they reported were blatant infringements.
It is difficult to know how to interpret the real-world significance of this startling finding since many infringing uses cannot practically be converted into new licenses-yet. But these practical difficulties have not stopped many stock distributors, archives, and some individual photographers from aggressively pursuing some of the worst offenders, often with real revenue gains as the result.
Public records indicate the largest stock distributors today convert many infringers into paying customers and generate millions in revenue that used to go uncollected. Mid-sized and smaller archives too have reported significant revenues recovered by pursuing leads.
White Paper
Infringements of Stock Images
and Lost Revenues
September 2007
Introduction
Nearly all aspects of the stock photography business have been transformed in the past decade. Film-based capture and overnight delivery of analog images have been replaced by digital images and electronic delivery. High-speed databases and broadband internet connections have made it easy to market, sell and deliver images anywhere in the world- all with the press of a button.
In addition, the internet has brought a major shift in how and where images are used. Print uses are declining and new media uses-such as online and portable devices-are proliferating. In the future, the stock photo industry will rely more heavily on revenues from these new media formats and non-traditional licensing models.
Along with the opportunities of the new digital age, significant challenges for the stock industry have also emerged. One challenge in particular is not yet fully appreciated, although we think this challenge also creates an opportunity for photographers, image distributors and industry groups to create new customers, new markets and new revenue streams.
Easy online access to millions of stock images has also made them extremely susceptible to theft and misuse. With just a click and a drag, users can move a digital file from any web site onto their desktop-without payment or license. Although images sourced this way are typically low-resolution, they are often good enough. High resolution is traded for an unbeatably low price-free.
In addition to outright piracy, digital media have also increased the potential for legitimately licensed images to be used outside the scope of the original license. Once downloaded, image files can be easily repurposed and redistributed to other users. File names are commonly changed and identifying metadata is stripped or altered, making these images vulnerable to misuse.
This paper addresses how and why the stock photo industry is subject to this theft; we also try to gauge the size of the problem. We describe what is being done now, obstacles to overcome, and suggest additional steps to minimize piracy of stock images, protect our copyrights, and maximize revenue opportunities for photographers and the distributors of their images.
The Size of the Problem
To learn more about th extent of the infringement problem, the Stock Artists Alliance teamed up with PicScout, a company that uses advanced visual recognition technology to track images on the web. Starting with a repository of copyrighted images, PicScout crawls the web to find matches and the technology is able to reliably identify unauthorized usages.
In 2003, SAA became aware that PicScout had begun searching commercial web sites for the Rights Managed images of several major stock collections and uncovered a shocking rate of abuse-nine out of every ten images they found were unauthorized uses.
This suggested a staggering loss of potential licensing revenue to those companies-and to copyright holders. PicScout further observed that these infringements could be classified into two general categories-inadvertent misuse and intentional theft. While some customers exceeded legitimate licenses, a large fraction of cases they reported were blatant infringements.
It is difficult to know how to interpret the real-world significance of this startling finding since many infringing uses cannot practically be converted into new licenses-yet. But these practical difficulties have not stopped many stock distributors, archives, and some individual photographers from aggressively pursuing some of the worst offenders, often with real revenue gains as the result.
Public records indicate the largest stock distributors today convert many infringers into paying customers and generate millions in revenue that used to go uncollected. Mid-sized and smaller archives too have reported significant revenues recovered by pursuing leads.
How to Whitelist an Email Address
Email servers are increasingly setting up roadblocks to deter unwanted emails from cluttering your inbox. Unfortunately, they can also deter mail that you WANT to receive.Fortunately, you can "whitelist" URLS with your email server to ensure delivery. Select your provider from the list below, and follow a few simple steps to let them know that a certain URL - like ours - should be delivered to you.
We hope this serves as our first helpful "open resource" from SAA.
AOL
Comcast
Earthlink
Gmail
Hotmail
Yahoo
Mozilla Thunderbird
Outlook 2003
SBC Global
Verizon
Blackberry Devices
AOL
If you are using AOL, you can ensure that your subscription information is delivered to your inbox by setting your Mail Controls. Here's how:
1. Go to Mail Controls
2. Select the screen name we're sending your email to
3. Click Customize mail Controls for this screen name
For AOL version 8.0:
Select allow email from all AOL members, email address and domains.
1. Click next until the save button shows up at the bottom
2. Click save
If you haven't received an email from us yet:
Please add our "From address" to your AOL address book:
1. Click the Mail menu and select Address Book.
2. Wait for the "Address Book" window to pop up, then click the Add button.
3. Wait for the "Address Card for New Contact" window to load.
4. Paste our email address into the "Other E-Mail" field.
5. Make our From address the "Primary E-Mail" address by checking the associated check box.
6. Click the Save button.
If you have already received an email from us:
If our email is in your AOL Spam Folder, please open the email and then click the This Is Not Spam button. Next, please add our address into your Address Book as described above.
COMCAST
1. Sign into Webmail.
2. On the left navigation menu, click Address Book.
3. Click Add Contact.
4. Under the General tab, in the box under the Email Address, enter our email address
5. Click the Add button.
If you have enabled Restrict Incoming Email, also do the following:
1. Sign into Webmail.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Select Restrict Incoming Email. Note: If Enable Email Controls is set to Yes, then you are restricting incoming emails.
4. Select Allow email from addresses listed below.
5. Enter our email address, and click the Add button.
EARTHLINK
1. Click the Address Book button to open your address book in the browser.
2. Click the Add Contact button (if you use EarthLink 5.0 or higher, click the Add button).
3. Type in our email address into the email address slot and then click OK.
GMAIL
If you haven't received a message from us yet, add our email address to your Gmail Contacts List:
1. Click Contacts along the left side of any Gmail page.
2. Click Add Contact.
3. Copy and paste our email address into the primary email address dialog box.
4. Click Save.
How to check if our email is in the "spam" folder:
1. Click Spam along the left side of any Gmail page.
2. Check-mark the box next to our newsletter.
3. Click Not Spam button along the top.
HOTMAIL
If you are using Hotmail, add our email address to your Hotmail Safe List. Here's how:
1. Open your mailbox and click "Options" (upper right hand corner).
2. Click the "Junk E-Mail Protection" link (top of page).
3. Select the "Safe List" link (2nd from bottom).
3. In the space provided (labeled "Type and address or domain", enter our email address.
4. Click "Add"
5. When you see the address you entered in the Safe List box, click OK
If you have received a message from us:
1. If our email is in your Junk E-Mail Folder, open the email and click the Not Junk button.
2. Next, check to see if our email address is in your Blocked Senders list.
If you see our email address on this list, select it and click the Remove button.
3. Finally, if you have not done so, add our email address into your Safe List as outlined above.
MOZILLA THUNDERBIRD
If you haven't received a message from us yet:
You will need to add our email address to your Thunderbird Address Book and configure your Junk Mail Controls to white list your address book.
1. Click the Address Book button.
2. Make sure the Personal Address Book is highlighted.
3. Click the New Card button. This will launch a New Card window that has 3 tabs: Contact, Address & Other.
4. Under the Contact tab, copy and paste our "From" address, add our email address into the Email dialog box.
5. Click OK.
If you have received a message from us:
1. Please check your Junk folder to see if our emails have been mistakenly placed there.
2. To prevent this from happening in the future, you need to mark our email as not junk. Do this by right-clicking on our newsletter and choose "Mark -< As Not Junk".
White list your Personal Address Book:
1. From the main drop down menu, select "Tools -< Junk Mail Controls..."
This will launch the Junk Mail Controls window that has two tabs: Settings and Adaptive Filter.
2. Under the Settings tab, update the "White Lists" module by selecting Personal Address Book from the pull down menu and then check mark the box next to "Do not mark messages as junk mail". Click OK.
OUTLOOK 2003
Add our email address to your Safe Senders list:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. On the Preferences tab, click Junk E-mail.
3. On the Safe Senders tab, click Add.
4. In the Add address, put our email address
5. Click OK.
SBC GLOBAL
1. Go to the SBC Global Mail page and click the Options link.
2. In the Management section, click the Filters link.
3. Click the Add button.
4. In the "From header" rule, in the field to the right of contains, enter our email address.
5. From the Move the message to pull-down list, choose inbox.
6. Click the Add Filter button to save the filter.
VERIZON
1. Go to your account and click on the Address Book link in the left column.
2. Select Create Contact.
3. The Add Address Book Entry screen appears. In the Email field, type our email address.
4. In the Nickname field, type our email address.
5. Select Save.
YAHOO
To ensure your subscription information is delivered to your Yahoo inbox (not the Bulk Mail or Junk Mail folder), you can instruct Yahoo to filter it to your inbox. Here's how:
1. Open your Yahoo mailbox
2. Click Mail Options (upper right hand corner).
3. Click filters
4. Next, click add filter (may also be add link)
5. In the top row, labeled From Header: make sure contains is selected in the pull-down menu.
6. Click in the text box next to that pull-down menu, then enter our email address.
(Please select the email address from the list provided, if available).
7. At the bottom, where it says Move the message to: select Inbox from the pull-down menu.
8. Click the Add Filter button again.
If you have received a message from us:
1. If our email is getting stuck in your Yahoo Bulk Folder, please open
the email and click the Not Spam button.
2. Next, check to see if the email address is in your "Blocked Addresses" list. If you see our email address on this list, select it and click the Remove Block button.
3. Lastly, please set up a filter as outlined above.
BLACKBERRY Devices
1. Scroll up to the message header.
2. Get to the field where their name is listed, click the Berry button and then click Show Address.
3. Select and copy that address to the clipboard.
4. Go into Address Book and find the user.
5. Select Save.
6. Click to edit it, and then click the Berry button to add another email address.
7. Paste it in and click Save.
Metadata Manifesto : Addendum
The Ideals behind Ideal Products
Besides adhering to the guiding principles proposed in the Metadata Manifesto, products aiming to gain significant market share in an increasingly metadata-hungry market should embody the following design ideals.
Products must allow metadata to be embedded as early as possible in the image creation process.
This could include:
- the ability to store a metadata template-or at least the image creator's name-in the internal memory of digital cameras and other image generating devices so that authorship information is automatically written to the metadata section of every newly created image..
- the ability to store authorship information on a protected sector of storage devices such as memory cards, and
- the ability to have image processing utilities automatically transfer this information (and even embed the information in the image) at the time images are copied to another device.
Products must allow metadata to be ubiquitous and persistent.
- Metadata must be preserved by default in all imaging applications.
- User interfaces must be clearly designed to prevent users from inadvertently removing metadata.
- Any mechanisms for removing metadata must allow image users to clearly understand what they are about to do.
- Metadata removal mechanisms must allow for selective removal of individual fields, as opposed to wholesale removal of all data.
- Any process for compression of images for low-bandwidth use should by default preserve at least a reduced set of metadata, and must at a minimum preserve the image ownership information.
Products should facilitate usage rights tracking.
Including:
- the ability to automatically assign a persistent, unique identifier to each image so image users can identify and track its origin more easily
- the ability to store passwords for selective levels of use permissions.
- the ability to password-protect authorship-related metadata to prevent inadvertent changes, as well as reduce the incidence of fraudulent changes.
Products must facilitate metadata automation.
Ideal products should:
- allow recorded actions or macros for metadata manipulation, including support for conditional statements.
- allow automated access to metadata elements through a cross-platform scripting language. There should be agreement on a common API and allow scripts to call the application's own metadata parser.
- allow scripts to read any and all metadata elements meant for public consumption. Restrictions, if any, should be honored so that private metadata is not read.
- allow scripts to write to any metadata elements for which writing is applicable or allowed.
Metadata Manifesto
Read the Manifesto here or Download the PDF
A Metadata Manifesto
A proposal from the Stock Artists Alliance
for the adoption of guiding principles, standards and technology
to promote image metadata use.
Version 1.0 / July 2006
Photographers, illustrators, publishers, advertisers, designers, art directors, picture editors, librarians and curators all share this same problem: struggling to track rapidly expanding collections of image assets.
In a world of desktops increasingly crowded with digital files, old methodology persists. Folders of digital images are "filed" while information about the images -- creator, caption and rights data -- often is available only from a separate database, notebook, or CD jacket.
The only link between the image and this data is a file name and where that file is stored. Unfortunately, this link is easily severed when file names get altered, files get relocated, copies are made and disseminated. Meanwhile, image information gets left behind.
Without effective systems in place for identifying and managing digital assets, everyone working with digital images is adversely affected. Resources are wasted, opportunities are lost, liability increases and intellectual property rights are eroded.
The volume of digital files challenges publishers who need to manage and access them. Busy designers and art directors download preview images to their desktops, only to find weeks or months later they cannot identify the source. Librarians and curators -- charged with making more cultural resources available to the public -- are already overburdened managing their legacy analog material. Now, they must cope with rapidly expanding digital assets as well.
Lack of information about an image file can delay projects, necessitating additional research to establish licensing rights, obtain clearances, and confirm caption details. This in turn has contributed to the growing problem of misuse of images, whether through error or by intent. Without proper licensing or permissions, users infringe copyright and expose themselves to liability.
The pressures on image creators-as copyright holders-to protect their intellectual property has intensified since the digitalization and online distribution of their images. If their images cannot be properly identified, they suffer from lost revenues due to missed licensing opportunities. Add to this the challenge posed by proposed changes in U.S. Copyright Law. If "orphan works" legislation passes as drafted, it would permit use of their images without a license in the event the owner cannot be located.
Industry wide adoption of metadata is the key to addressing these challenges. Yet today, it is underused and under-supported. What's missing is an adherence to standards and technology solutions that support metadata use and preservation.
Image creators need to commit to embedding metadata as they move rapidly to an all-digital workflow. Those at the forefront have recognized the value of metadata to better protect their intellectual property. A recent Stock Artists Alliance member survey of nearly 400 active stock photographers found that a majority currently embed metadata in their image files. 9 in 10 include a copyright notice, 8 in 10 include creator contact information, and 7 in 10 include a unique image identifier, title, caption and keywords.
