Getty Images, the largest photo agency in the world, has made over 35 million photos free for use as it attempts to combat piracy.
Millions of different images including the world famous shots of Barack Obama and Marilyn Monroe will soon be available without any cost to social media sites and blogs.
The photos will have a frame with a code that links them back to the Getty website. Getty said it decided to make the photos available after it realized thousands of images it owns were being used with no attribution.
A business development executive for Getty said the company content already was everywhere. He said if you want an image from Getty today it can be found very easily without any watermark.
The company announced it was making as many as 35 million of its images available through the embed tool it has just started using. The images can be share on sites such as Tumblr and Twitter.
Users have a choice of different types of photos to choose from. The categories range from fashion shows to sporting events to stock images and celebrity gatherings.
There are notable exceptions however, editorial photos for example such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks or the Tiananmen Square shots from 1989.
Getty in the eyes of many is admitting to defeat. Getty is now saying without saying it that by offering embedded photos it cannot police effectively its own images across the vast Internet.
The code, which is able to be cut and pasted onto any type of website, is similar to the one provided by YouTube for sharing videos. Images are not able to be resized and will have a logo for Getty Images and a photographer’s credit.
Photographers are not pleased, as now some will not be paid anything for the use of their photos. They say they do not work for free and now believe they will not make anything.
The commercial use of the library of Getty images, which includes television, newspapers and advertisers, is to continue being charged.
Roxanne Briean
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