For some time, observers have wondered about the apparent lack of traction of Corbis' late-to-market microstock division SnapVillage. Apparently, so has Corbis: SnapVillage will be gone by the end of this year, to be replaced by a new product.
Stockholm-based NordicPhotos has become PicScout's first new client of 2009.
Getty Images has become the exclusive distributor of the Jane Goodall Institute's footage of endangered chimpanzees.
The Associated Press is going after Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey for copyright infringement. The AP claims to own the photo Fairey used as basis for the famed Obama "HOPE" poster; Fairey claims fair use. Image ownership and the application of the fair-use exception are the two unclear aspects of this potential legal battle, which has yet to become a formal lawsuit.
In 2008, Alamy paid its contributors $20.8 million of $31.5 million in gross sales. The company has also disclosed summary sales and return-per-image information for the top 100 sellers in the photographer and agency categories, demonstrating that there is no right answer to the age-old question of loose versus tight editing.
Citizen journalism Web site Scoopt will not make it to its fourth birthday. Established by Scottish duo Kyle and Jill MacRae in July 2005, Scoopt became Getty Images' property in March 2007 and will cease to exist March 2009.
The National Archives of Scotland, in partnership with The National Library of Scotland, National Museums Scotland, The National Trust for Scotland and The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, has developed Scotland's Images.
If the iStockphoto's growth rate were to remain flat for the rest of 2009, it would license rights to over 25,690,000 images for the year.