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Re: User fees from the user?



On Mon, 1 Jul 2002, Catherine Bruck wrote:

> The BBC recently contacted me about using some images on a program they are
> producing.  I sent them all the relevant fees and citation/credit
> information.  They responded that they have their own schedule of
> "remuneration" fees which they pay for use of images and that they do not
> cite sources as it "would be too cumbersome."  I agreed to their fee
> schedule and they agreed to cite the source of the images.

Citing sources is too cumbersome?  That's what I'd expect to hear from
a rag like the National Enquirer, not a supposedly reputable outfit
like the BBC.

We, too, frequently receive publishers' own contracts, and we return
them saying that we are forbidden from signing such agreements, and
that the terms of agreement must be ours.  I haven't gotten too many
arguments.  The primary bone of contention is that *their* agreements
want *us* to indemnify *them* against any penalties for copyright
violation, etc., whereas our agreement does just the opposite.  One of
our basic rules is that we do not claim to own the rights to most of
the images in our holdings (they come to us from a myriad of sources
and provenance is often unknown), and users will use them at their own
risk, if they do not wish to locate the copyright holder themselves.

I wonder if the apparent rise of such publishers' agreements is due to
the so-called "royalty-free" market, whereby someone buys a CD of
images, the photographer receives a flat fee (or a percentage of the
CD sales), and the purchaser has no further requirement for payment or
citation.  This is attractive to end users since they know what they
are paying up front and, having purchased the CD, they can use the
images in any way they please, as many times as they please, for one
fee.  Professional photographers have been arguing against this scheme
for years, but it's a losing battle.

As others have said, if they don't agree to your terms, let 'em find
the image somewhere else, or find something else if they can't get
yours under their terms.  If your images are unique, they may come
back to you and agree to your terms if they want what you have bad
enough.  If not, you can't lose something you never had.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

James Stimpert                       ** PLEASE USE THE FOLLOWING:
Archives (Arts and Sciences)         E-mail:    stimpert@jhu.edu
MSE Library
Johns Hopkins University             Voice:     (410) 516-8323
3400 North Charles Street
Baltimore, MD  21218                 Fax:       (410) 516-7202

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