Comments on: Vivozoom – Bringing Traditional Buyers to Microstock http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html For People Selling Photos Online Tue, 07 Feb 2012 01:17:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Don Farrall http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html/comment-page-1#comment-25327 Don Farrall Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:52:20 +0000 http://www.microstockdiaries.com/?p=218#comment-25327 Lee, Regarding stolen images: 22 images, discovered August 2nd of 2008, on Shutterstock. The same 22, plus photos from other photographers were discovered on the Shutterstock site in July of 2007. A sub-set of five of six were discovered on Dreamstime and Istock in August of 2007. These were top selling images from Getty that had earned considerable income selling at traditional RF prices, prior to their status as illegal microstock. Don Farrall Lee,

Regarding stolen images:

22 images, discovered August 2nd of 2008, on Shutterstock. The same 22, plus photos from other photographers were discovered on the Shutterstock site in July of 2007. A sub-set of five of six were discovered on Dreamstime and Istock in August of 2007. These were top selling images from Getty that had earned considerable income selling at traditional RF prices, prior to their status as illegal microstock.

Don Farrall

]]> By: Lee Torrens http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html/comment-page-1#comment-25325 Lee Torrens Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:18:44 +0000 http://www.microstockdiaries.com/?p=218#comment-25325 Hi Don, No, I can't be sure. I can only go on what I'm told and as your example demonstrates, it's not uncommon to get conflicting accounts. Thanks for sharing your experience again. I'd be interested to know when the last fraudulent uploading of your photos occurred. -Lee Hi Don,

No, I can’t be sure. I can only go on what I’m told and as your example demonstrates, it’s not uncommon to get conflicting accounts. Thanks for sharing your experience again. I’d be interested to know when the last fraudulent uploading of your photos occurred.

-Lee

]]> By: Don Farrall http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html/comment-page-1#comment-25324 Don Farrall Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:55:41 +0000 http://www.microstockdiaries.com/?p=218#comment-25324 Lee, you have written "Fraudulent attempts to upload images are obviously higher at microstock agencies given the open model, but image-to-image search facilities at many microstock agencies help catch this fraud as it happens". Are you sure about this? It hasn't been my experience. I have discovered my Getty images uploaded to Shutterstock, Dreamstime and even Istock, on multiple occasions. The agencies didn't discover them, I did, and the offending thief had not only uploaded my images but other photographers work as well. Microstock agencies don't like to talk about this, and they aren't very forthright when it comes to dealing with it either. Since it's happened at multiple agencies with the same images, multiple times, I am suspect about claims that software is working in the background to prevent this. The buyers who downloaded these images are using them without a legitimate copyright. When alerted of this, the agencies pulled the images from the sites, but they refused to answer the question about weather they had, or would contact the buyers and inform them that they were in receipt of stolen goods. So yes, from my perspective, there is an issue with fraud that needs to be addressed. I was hoping that the existing agencies would operate in a more responsible manner. This new agency, vivozoom, may do more to fix the problem with other agencies, as they are forced to step up and make a better effort, lets hope so. Lee, you have written “Fraudulent attempts to upload images are obviously higher at microstock agencies given the open model, but image-to-image search facilities at many microstock agencies help catch this fraud as it happens”. Are you sure about this? It hasn’t been my experience. I have discovered my Getty images uploaded to Shutterstock, Dreamstime and even Istock, on multiple occasions. The agencies didn’t discover them, I did, and the offending thief had not only uploaded my images but other photographers work as well. Microstock agencies don’t like to talk about this, and they aren’t very forthright when it comes to dealing with it either.

Since it’s happened at multiple agencies with the same images, multiple times, I am suspect about claims that software is working in the background to prevent this. The buyers who downloaded these images are using them without a legitimate copyright. When alerted of this, the agencies pulled the images from the sites, but they refused to answer the question about weather they had, or would contact the buyers and inform them that they were in receipt of stolen goods. So yes, from my perspective, there is an issue with fraud that needs to be addressed. I was hoping that the existing agencies would operate in a more responsible manner. This new agency, vivozoom, may do more to fix the problem with other agencies, as they are forced to step up and make a better effort, lets hope so.

]]> By: Don Farrall http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html/comment-page-1#comment-25276 Don Farrall Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:27:57 +0000 http://www.microstockdiaries.com/?p=218#comment-25276 I like it. As someone who has had their images stolen and uploaded by others I think this is needed and I bet it will work. Don Farrall I like it. As someone who has had their images stolen and uploaded by others I think this is needed and I bet it will work.

Don Farrall

]]> By: Yanik's Photo School http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html/comment-page-1#comment-25275 Yanik's Photo School Tue, 20 Jan 2009 01:43:58 +0000 http://www.microstockdiaries.com/?p=218#comment-25275 I was invited to join but I passed it up for now. To me, it's just another startup in a tough niche to break. I wish them success though. If sales do start to show, I might join then. It doesn't make good business sense to join another Lucky Oliver. I was invited to join but I passed it up for now. To me, it’s just another startup in a tough niche to break. I wish them success though. If sales do start to show, I might join then.

It doesn’t make good business sense to join another Lucky Oliver.

]]> By: Paul Melcher http://www.microstockdiaries.com/vivozoom.html/comment-page-1#comment-25260 Paul Melcher Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:35:28 +0000 http://www.microstockdiaries.com/?p=218#comment-25260 I wanted to make a point regarding your last entry of today regarding this new company Vivizoom. If two ex Getty employee, especially a CFO, created a company whose only purpose is to guarantee that the images are from who they say they are from, with rock solid releases, that means it is a hurting point for istockphoto. It has been an issue in the past for istockphoto to receive stolen images and I know for a fact that they now using technology to double check the origin of all submissions. It might also be an issue for Shutterstock and Dreamstime, altought I have never heard about it. Thus these guys are trying to enter a market, the corporate world, that apparently Istock is having a lot of problem reassuring. I thought that was a rather important piece of info. I wanted to make a point regarding your last entry of today regarding this new company Vivizoom. If two ex Getty employee, especially a CFO, created a company whose only purpose is to guarantee that the images are from who they say they are from, with rock solid releases, that means it is a hurting point for istockphoto.
It has been an issue in the past for istockphoto to receive stolen images and I know for a fact that they now using technology to double check the origin of all submissions. It might also be an issue for Shutterstock and Dreamstime, altought I have never heard about it.
Thus these guys are trying to enter a market, the corporate world, that apparently Istock is having a lot of problem reassuring. I thought that was a rather important piece of info.

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