ORPHAN WORKS BILL RECEIVES ATTENTION
Congress is considering a bill that would affect the disposition of orphan works, those images whose copyright owners may be impossible to identify and locate. Early this year, the Copyright Office completed its study of problems related to these works and presented its findings to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The study was in response to concerns that uncertainty surrounding ownership might discourage subsequent creators and users from incorporating such works in new creative efforts, or from making such works available to the public.
The office’s 133-page report recommended the passage of legislation to address the issue and proposed an amendment to Chapter 5 of the Copyright Act regarding copyright infringement and remedies. Under the proposal, a potential user who has performed a reasonably diligent, but unsuccessful, search for the copyright owner can enjoy a benefit of limitations on the remedies that a copyright owner could obtain against the user if the owner showed up at a later date and sued for infringement.
The American Society of Media Photographers spoke out against the proposed bill, calling it a disaster for photographers. “Orphan works” is a misleading phrase that diminishes the extent of the problem, ASMP noted. For independent photographers and illustrators, whose work typically is published without copyright notice or credit, the majority of published images may be designated orphan works. The society also questioned the definition of a “diligent” search.
More information is available on the ASMP web site (www.asmp.org), as well as at http://judiciary.senate.gov.
NANPA REACHES OUT, LAUNCHES AWARD
At its 12th Annual Summit, held earlier this year in Denver, the North American Nature Photography Association launched a community outreach event to bring together nature photographers and leaders in local conservation efforts.
As part of the proceedings, a special award was given to a current conservation project, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative: Pyramid Peak Trail Stabilization Project. The partnership of nonprofit organizations, concerned individuals and public agencies was formed in 1994 to protect and preserve the natural integrity of Colorado’s 54 peaks over 14,000 feet.
Also new at the summit was a fine-art photography exhibit featuring members’ work. This year, the show was held at the American Mountaineering Center in Golden, Colo. More than 150 images were displayed for the week of the summit.
The association also announced the debut of its journal, Impressions, designed to allow members to share their images. For the initial juried collection, 300 photographers submitted more than 2,000 images.
CORBIS REVENUES UP 34 PERCENT IN 2005
At its annual meeting in late April, Corbis released details of the privately held company’s financial performance for 2005 and its goals for the remainder of 2006. The company reported a revenue increase of 34 percent over the previous year,
for a total of $228 million. That figure, however, includes the acquisition of the European stock agency Zefa, which augmented revenues by approximately 30 percent.
In part due to the Zefa purchase, Corbis management announced that the company had failed to achieve the profitability projected at the 2005 annual meeting. In order to attain its goals for this year, the company intends to expand its database by 600,000 images and move beyond stock-image licensing to focus on photo assignment and representation services.
Corbis also announced its acquisition of Beateworks, an image licensing company offering interior design and architectural images, which includes InsideOutPix and Beateworks@Home. With headquarters in Southern California, Beateworks photographers create images for such home and lifestyle publications as Elle Décor, In Style, House Beautiful, Architectural Digest and Metropolitan Home. Corbis will integrate the Beateworks collections into its media library, web site, global sales and marketing programs.
GETTY’S STOCK FALLS AFTER PIXEL PURCHASE
In April, Getty Images acquired Pixel Images Holdings Limited, the Irish parent company of Stockbyte and Stockdisc, for $135 million. Most of the content licensed under the Stockbyte and Stockdisc brands through a worldwide network of distributors is already available on www.gettyimages.com, with the remainder to be added by midyear.
Despite an aggressive acquisition strategy over the past 18 months —
its holdings now include Photonica, Digital Vision, Medio Images and iStockphoto — the company recently lost standing on Wall Street. Two weeks following the Pixel Images
deal announcement, Getty reported first-quarter revenues that were 13 percent higher than first-quarter 2005 figures, plus a 22 percent increase of net cash to $66 million. Although these numbers met the company’s internal projections, financial analysts had forecast more robust earnings and gave Getty a
vote of no confidence.
There also was speculation from financial analysts that Getty’s competitors, such as Corbis and Jupitermedia, are becoming more formidable in garnering shares of the marketplace. The day after Getty’s report was released, its stock dipped 10.4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Although the company’s stock traded for more than $90 in the last two months of 2005, its value had slipped to $63.24 by the second week in May 2006.
For the second quarter of 2006, Getty expects revenue in the range of $205 million to $210 million.
SOTHEBY’S SEES RECORD PHOTOGRAPHY AUCTION
An Edward Steichen photograph, “The Pond — Moonlight,” recently sold at Sotheby’s New York for just over $2.9 million, easily setting a world record for the highest-priced photograph ever auctioned, according to the auction house.
The final bid on Steichen’s “Pond,” one of only three known prints of this image, was almost three times its high estimate of $1 million. The purchaser was Peter MacGill, of Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York city, on behalf of a private collector.
The February sale featured 113 photography lots from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including works from the Gilman Paper Co. collection.In total, the photographs sold for nearly $15 million, about three times higher than the initial estimated valuation of $4 to $6 million. With 91 percent of the lots selling for more than their high estimates, and an average lot value of $132,592, the two-day event set a record total for a photography sale.
Among the late 19th- and early 20th-century works auctioned off were two Alfred Stieglitz photographs of Georgia O’Keeffe — “Hands,” sold at $1.47 million, and “Nude,” which brought $1.36 million — both of which went to a West Coast dealer. “Hands” set an artist record, as did three additional photographs, by Margrethe Mather, Paul Outerbridge Jr. and Margaret Bourke-White.
WIREIMAGE ESTABLISHES DISTRIBUTION PARTNERS
This spring, WireImage began distributing selected pictures and photographs from the Condé Nast Archive, under the rights-managed category of WireImage Creative. The specially edited collection contains iconic images from the 1930s to the late 1970s, from publications such as Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair and House & Garden. The images — produced by such well known names as Tom Leonard, William Grigsby, Samuel Gottscho, Rico Pulmann, John Rawlings and Susan Wood — are available for licensing at www.wireimage.com.
In April, WireImage also signed an agreement with NewsCom, becoming part of the news and visual content provider’s roster of contributors. NewsCom also will distribute the FilmMagic celebrity photo service. Both WireImage and FilmMagic are owned by MediaVast.
REPEAT BUYERS DRIVE DIGITAL SLR SALES
Repeat camera buyers soon will play a much bigger role in the growth of the digital still camera market, according to industry analysts at InfoTrends, based in Weymouth, Mass. The report also says the demand for digital SLRs will continue to grow
in North America and is expected
to peak later this year.
Competition in the photo print market will remain intense, but InfoTrends foresees that the focus will shift from persuading digital camera owners to choose one printing method over another to simply providing customers with more reasons to print. More digital camera owners are using retail print services, with the number of those saying that they print most often at retail outlets rising from 13 percent in 2004 to 23 percent in 2005.
InfoTrends’ print researchers expect manufacturers to effect changes that will make it easier for consumers to print their photos anytime and from anywhere. The evolution of snapshot-sized printers, the growth in wireless printing and the emerging popularity of Internet-to-retail printing are just a few of the trends that will make printing more convenient.
ONREQUEST OPENS THREE BRANCHES
As part of an aggressive growth strategy, OnRequest Images, a provider of custom imagery, recently opened new offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas.
Cindy Lee, a creative services director with more than 20 years of experience, has been hired as the senior account executive for the San Francisco office. Michele Fleury, a producer and photographer with more than a decade of experience, will serve as the senior producer in the Los Angeles office. Steve Klekamp, who also has more than 20 years of creative and photography business experience, has joined the Dallas office.
In addition, the company has hired Todd Hovey as director of product development. Hovey has 13 years of product marketing, management and entrepreneurial expertise at companies such as Microsoft and Vertis.
BROOKS ALUMNI FORM ASSOCIATION
Brooks Institute, with campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura, Calif., has re-established the Alumni Association of Brooks Institute and named a 13-member board of directors. The board will be charged with creating programs aimed at enhancing student life on campus, establishing alumni connections and offering networking opportunities after graduation. The AABI also will provide educational seminars, guest speakers, scholarships and career counseling.
More information is available at www.brooks.edu.