Getty Images, Corbis and a number of other agencies rely on PicScout to monitor online use of their images. In an environment where infringement is rampant, PicScout helps copyright owners identify unauthorized image use and recoup lost revenues. While such objectives are critical to maintaining a successful stock-licensing business, PicScout's monitoring practices are becoming increasingly questioned by Webmasters.
The National Legal and Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based legal watchdog group, has presented members of Congress with a report detailing Google's role in the film industry's copyright violations. NLPC contends that Google Video and the video-sharing Web site YouTube are hurting copyright by hosting infringing material.
In addition to moving closer to profitability, the recent consolidation and restructuring of a21 operations was intended to free up cash resources needed to launch new products and support existing ones. Today, a21 announced plans for an online royalty-free stock-licensing business MediaMagnet.
Online U.K. music-licensing company Ricall and BBC Motion Gallery have reached an agreement to cross-promote each other's product lines. Ricall's inventory contains 4 million tracks, including all of the U.K.'s top 40 and the U.S.' top 100, as well as independent music. BBC's archive, which contains more than 500,000 hours of footage.
ZUMA Press, a California-based photojournalism agency, is now representing the daily photographic production and archive of The Los Angeles Daily News.
InformationWeek has ranked Getty Images seventh in its list of 500 most innovative corporate users of information technology. Getty Images is the highest-scoring company in the media and entertainment category.