On Nov. 4, the motion of four creative industry groups and several individuals to join on the creators' side of the Authors Guild et. al. v. Google was once again denied on appeal. Organizations that petitioned the court to intervene in the class action against Google included the American Society of Media Photographers, the Graphic Artists Guild, the Picture Archive Council of America and the North American Nature Photography Association. Chief among U.S. District Judge Denny Chin's grounds for denying their request was its untimely nature.
A year after Getty and Flickr first decided to launch the Flickr Collection, Getty Images has issued a Call for Artists. This provides Flickr users with an opportunity to submit work to the collection, offering a more proactive option than simply specifying they are open to being contacted by Getty within their account settings.
San Francisco-based liveBooks has announced the infusion of $5 million in private funding into its photographer Web site business. The company has also introduced subscription-based pricing and templated Web sites, along with plans to expand into graphic and interior design markets.
The Swedish Picture Suppliers Association (BLF) says the first Scandinavian trade fair for picture buyers, Image for Sale, was a success. Attendee responses to a follow-up questionnaire were positive, with both visitors and exhibitors requesting a larger-scope event for next year.
Getty Images has secured exclusive agency rights to market Bloomberg Photos.
PicScout has been named among the top 10 fastest growing technology companies in the 2009 Deloitte Israel Technology Fast 50. Deloitte director Tal Chen said the company placed PicScout fourth on the list after it determined that the technology company had a growth rate of 3,277% over the past five years.
The British Association of Picture Libraries and Agencies has issued a formal response to what it calls "potentially destructive and libelous accusations" by member company fotoLibra. According to a statement posted on the BAPLA Web site, fotoLibra is completely wrong in its perception of BAPLA's future plans.