This came up on another list and I thought people here would like to know about this major scam.
It seems that Getty Images learned a few years ago that they could buy 4 X 5 negatives of images from the US National Archives for $ 5 each. They bought thousands. Now they are selling these same images through their stock agency and claiming copyright on them. The vast majority of the images in the National Archives were taken by government employees and are public domain. Here's just one example for anyone skeptical. Getty image: 3090980 On the getty website it says, "American Pilots November 1943: American pilots leaning against the tail of a F6F Hellcat on board the USS Lexington after a raid on the Marshall Islands. (Photo by MPI/ Getty Images)" http://preview.tinyurl.com/2825kt Now the same image from the US National Archives. To locate the same image, it is a bit more complicated. First go to the NARA ARC search engine: http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/basic_search.jsp click the large yellow oval that says, "SEARCH" and you will see a search page. In the blank box at the top enter the ARC number 520896 (just enter the numbers only) and click on the GO button to the right. National Archives ARC: 520896 It also says Local Identifier: 80- G-470985 (this is the National Archives number for that image. The 80- G says WWII and US Navy PHOTOGRPHER, other photographs are NOT in this category, only ones shot by US Navy personal. The top page says Digital copy available, that line is a link, click it. The next page has a thumbnail and the text block starts with, "Pilots leaning across F6F on board the USS Lexington (CV-16) after shooting down 17 out of 20 Japanese planes heading for Tarawa." THIS block of text is a link to the next page so Click that link.. This page is where the truth lies. At the bottom it lists "Steichen, Edward, Photographer" If you do not know, Edward Steichen was a Commander in the US Navy and headed the Navy's photographic team. He was a US Government employee and as such ALL of his images (during his service) are in the Public Domain. This is noted earlier on this page by saying, "Access Restrictions: Unrestricted Use Restrictions: Unrestricted" As public domain images, these images belong to US, the public. Getty, or anyone else, has absolutely no right to claim copyright to these images and sell them. We need to spread the word on this, and any of Getty's customers who have paid to license such images should demand an immediate and full refund. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
