Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images • Hacker News Board

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#171

Post by zamalek » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 5:33 PM UTC

dannyw wrote: post #124

jehb wrote: post #42

I'm going to instead see this as an opportunity for something better to emerge. My biggest problem with Unsplash is that they did not use a standard license that would easily be compatible with a Creative Commons or open source licensed work. If I incorporated images from Unsplash, suddenly I couldn't say "you're welcome to do whatever you like with my work." In fact, they used to use a CC0 license, but then changed,…

As a site, when you adopt a CC0-esque license, what happens is other sites will scrape you but not allow you to scrape in exchange. You start losing out on SEO rankings, and then contributors, and finally content. This also makes it harder to invest in usability features like curation and search (photo search is complicated!). I’d love to understand any ideas on how to create open CC0 aggregators without the game the…

My earliest exposure to Unsplash was wallpaper apps, and that's certainly the case with many of my friends. I didn't even make the association between Unsplash and stock photography until very recently.

My fiance had Giphy installed on her phone when I first met her, which surprised me because I considered Giphy as little more than a Reddit gif host. She uses a lot of reaction gifs in her messages.

A search engine isn't the only route to your website. With Unsplash going down the drain, people are going to want wallpapers (on their phones, their browsers, and their desktops). You could also make an image search plugin for PowerPoint and GSlides. Making an aggregator is "easy," that stuff is hard.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#172

Post by mwambua » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 5:35 PM UTC

rpdillon wrote: post #123

dbrgn wrote: post #71

This reminds me of 500px. I used to be a huge fan of 500px. It was the most beautiful photography site on the internet, designed with attention to every tiny detail. It allowed you to share your photos under a CC license, presented them beautifully and had fantastic curated feeds with photos by fantastic photographers. In 2018 they were acquired by an investor company and partnered exclusively with Getty. As a contri…

Reading through the press release, this really stood out: > In 2016, we first met the Getty Images team. We weren’t sure they would see the world the same way we did given their business was largely built on licensing. Over years of conversations, however, we learned about the level of respect they had for the Unsplash community and the rights of creators to choose how and where their imagery is made available. While…

> the rights of creators to choose how and where their imagery is made available

I didn't know that there's any way to control where the images show up. Isn't it just a free-for-all on Unsplash?

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#173

Post by scopio » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 5:38 PM UTC

I am the CEO at Scopio, www.scop.io/submit the most diverse photographer community. Visit us and join us. You can also see us on @scopioimages. We have the most talented artists in 150 countries and people get paid and build their network and careers. A real community for the underdog. Tons of perks and other opps once in.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#174

Post by moeedm » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 5:48 PM UTC

dbrgn wrote: post #71

This reminds me of 500px. I used to be a huge fan of 500px. It was the most beautiful photography site on the internet, designed with attention to every tiny detail. It allowed you to share your photos under a CC license, presented them beautifully and had fantastic curated feeds with photos by fantastic photographers. In 2018 they were acquired by an investor company and partnered exclusively with Getty. As a contri…

That’s the business of stock photos. Unsplash managed to stick around because they provided free high quality images that were more “real” looking than stock photos. It was supported by ads, which I’m sure kept the site running but when Getty knocks on your door and offers to buy you out ... it’s hard to say no.

The cycle will continue. In its place there will be a new Unsplash which will offer the same + a bit more until it gets bought out too.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#175

Post by growt » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 5:54 PM UTC

zucker42 wrote: post #158

growt wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually was sued over this exact thing and lost (and paid quite a bit of money). All for a little UI experiment that nobody saw but me, google and (via google image search) these vultures.

Wow really, that's a pretty big problem. Which country?

Germany

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#176

Post by growt » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 5:55 PM UTC

draugadrotten wrote: post #165

growt wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually was sued over this exact thing and lost (and paid quite a bit of money). All for a little UI experiment that nobody saw but me, google and (via google image search) these vultures.

So you were copying somebody else's work for free, without even giving them the attribution they ask for as- and THEY are the vultures?

Read the grand parent comment for the practice I was referring to. Or are you just trolling?

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#177

Post by dceddia » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 6:01 PM UTC

zucker42 wrote: post #121

23B1 wrote: post #80

"This is not one of those tech acquisitions where the company is bought to be shut down. Unsplash will continue to operate as a standalone brand and division of Getty Images." Sweet summer child

What is it about being the CEO of a startup that causes people to believe these promises?

Feels like, at this point, anyone in this situation surely knows what's gonna happen. They can't say it publicly, though, or at least, definitely not during the announcement!

I can just imagine how that would go... "Today we have been purchased by BigCo. We'll try to keep things the same for as long as we can, but tbh all the founders got a 2 year agreement after which we get a boatload of money, and then we're outta here and they'll probably shut this whole thing down. Enjoy it while it lasts!"

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#178

Post by zozbot234 » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 6:10 PM UTC

minxomat wrote: post #90

onli wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Creative Commons caused many issues in countries like Germany, with photographers publishing under CC with attribution clause, then hunting for sites using photos without or with not 100% correct attribution (in illegal pro-profit cooperations with lawyers) and suing the site owners for thousands of dollars. It really would have to be CC0, but even mentioning CC will raise a red flag for many now.

CC0 is the norm on Pexels (based in Germany). It adds a clause to forbid reselling on other sites, but that's it.

That's not CC0, and is not even a free content license. "Right to fork" is integral to any definition of free/open content.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#179

Post by matkoniecz » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 6:19 PM UTC

onli wrote: post #103

matkoniecz wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Publish images with as hidden license requirements as possible What exactly was going on? Have they published images in misleading way? Or is it case of going after people who published images with "source: Internet"? Or case of attacking people who made honest effort to attribute author? Because I am familiar with big corporations using freely licensed work and ignoring attribution requirements. For example Facebo…

No, wrong target - big enterprises have lawyers of their own. The target goal here is the 13 year old that published a fan page on neocities. He won't defend himself, the parents will pay, and that the claimed image licensing costs are way higher than what usually can be claimed in such a situation they will not notice.

If there are sources confirming targeting such cases as "13 year old that published a fan page on neocities" then I can become outraged.

But for all what I know they could be targeting marketing departments using stolen photos in ads.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#180

Post by growt » Tue, Mar 30, 2021, 6:21 PM UTC

dna_polymerase wrote: post #110

joshuaissac wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hunting for sites using photos without or with not 100% correct attribution I do not see what is wrong about this part (other than the illegal(?) nexus with lawyers). CC licences still have to be complied with (or the user can contact the copyright holder for an alternative licence). GPL infringers have been taken to court as well, and a legal, for-profit litigation initiative might be a good incentive that encoura…

Since I've been victim of this practice, let me elaborate: There are individuals in Germany (two photographers IIRC) who upload photos to the Wikipedia. The licence is always CC with attribution, but that part is badly presented on Wiki (or was). Next thing, they wait for people to use their images and go around to sue everyone who doesn't display the attribution string alongside the image. It is just predatory behav…

And Wikipedia doesn't want to change the missing attribution and "hidden" license for their images. I guess some of those participating in that scheme are active wikipedians and lobbying to keep things as they are.