According to Nancy Wolff, the legal counsel of the Picture Archive Council of America and the PLUS Coalition, the congressional version of the Orphan Works Bill of 2008 is an improvement. By contrast, Atlanta attorney Carolyn Wright thinks both the House and Senate versions of the bill pose an extreme threat to copyright owners.
By 2012, digital advertising is expected to eclipse traditional advertising, according to 52% of respondents to Accenture's 2008 Global Media Survey of more than 100 senior business executives in North America and Europe.
iStockphoto's Q1 2008 revenue increase was impressive compared to Q4 2007, but many image producers are worried about the declining number of downloads. Till the end of last year, virtually all iStock suppliers with reasonably sized collections could count on downloads and revenue rising steadily month to month.
Bo Olofsson, Getty Images senior vice president of sales, intends to resign upon the completion of the planned merger with Hellman & Friedman. Nicholas Evans-Lombe, previously executive vice president of imagery, products and services, has been promoted to executive vice president and COO, which is a new position for Getty Images.
Corbis has announced the winners of its second Creativity for Social Justice Award & Scholarship. As part of the Annual ADC Awards, this prize honors work created by professionals and students for nonprofits on a pro-bono basis.
The Stock Artists Alliance, an advocacy group dedicated to protecting the interests of professional stock photographers, is urging Congress to amend the proposed Orphan Works Act of 2008. Though SAA recognizes the improvements made since the 2006 version of the legislation, it feels the new bill must do a better job of balancing the needs of users with those of copyright holders.
Aflo Co., Ltd., one of Japan's leading stock-image providers, is absorbing the operations of its younger Tokyo neighbor am-images, now dissolved as a separate business entity. The two companies report an amicable merger without disclosing financial details.
Getty Images has reported revenue of $233.2 million for Q1 2008, up from $218.1 in Q4 2007 and up significantly from the $220 Q1 estimate supplied at the end of January. Revenue increased 9.7% compared to $212.7 million in Q1 2007 and came mainly from increasing licenses of editorial and micropayment imagery.