New Service Enables Individuals and Agencies to Upload Photos and Receive
Reports Indicating Which Persons or Companies are Using Proprietary Images
Without Prior Consent or Payment
NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
ImageRights International, an Internet-based services company, today announced
the availability of its first service-ImageRights-a low-cost, easy to use
solution designed to help protect the copyrights of photographers and
stock-photo agencies. Targeted to the estimated three million worldwide
commercial photographers, ImageRights is applying visual search and image
recognition technology to track the use of photographs and illustrations across
the Internet, enabling rights holders to discover and ultimately recover fees
for the unlicensed use of their works. ImageRights will be demonstrated this
week at the 2009 PhotoPlus Expo and Conference in New York at booth #379.
Commercial photographers` very livelihoods are being tested by two fundamental
problems: rapidly declining revenues resulting from downward pricing pressures
on stock photography, and the ease with which copyrighted content can be copied,
literally with the click of a mouse, and then reused online without
authorization. The stock agencies are likewise suffering from declining
revenues, forcing them to reevaluate their business models and the services they
offer in order to reignite revenue growth.
ImageRights addresses both problems. Users upload their photographs and
illustrations to the system, and then for as little as $4.95 per month, the
ImageRights service will provide a weekly report detailing any image matches
that it has found on the web. The report provides contact information for the
infringing sites, enabling users to follow-up with those persons or companies
directly. The service will be offered to individual photographers, visual
artists, and stock agencies, reporting on the use of images from their entire
inventory.
"While there are various claims throughout the industry as to the total revenues
lost due to copyright infringement every year, it`s safe to say the number
exceeds $900 million," said Joe Naylor, CEO at ImageRights International.
"ImageRights helps protect photographers and agencies by making it easy and
inexpensive to determine who is using their images and illustrations, and
provides information to help photographers and agencies halt unauthorized use
and/or gain compensation for their work. Given how easy it is for persons and
companies to `borrow` images from unsuspecting artists, we think ImageRights
will be tremendously popular and widely adopted in a very short time."
About ImageRights International
ImageRights International is an Internet-based services company supporting
copyright protection and license recovery. ImageRights is applying visual search
and image recognition technology to track the use of photographs and
illustrations across the Internet, enabling the rights holders to discover and
then recover fees on the unlicensed use of their works. For additional
information, visit www.imagerights.com.
ImageRights
Kevin Wolf, 650-327-1641
kevin@toolguypr.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
