Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images • Hacker News Board

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#231

Post by markdown » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 1:32 AM UTC

haxiomic wrote: post #74

My main association with Getty is their 'copyfraud' practises where they claim public domain images (NASA, Library of Congress etc) as their own and sell licenses[0]. They're also well known for aggressive acquisitions[1]. Perhaps this a good time to create a mirror [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Images#Claiming_copyrigh... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Images#Acquisitions

Yup, they've taken rare public domain images from the vaults of museums around the world, claimed the copyright on them, and charge thousands of dollars to use them. Fuck Getty Images.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#232

Post by yellowapple » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 2:08 AM UTC

This demonstrates rather plainly that the paranoia (from myself and others) around the "Unsplash license" was warranted.

> In 2016, we first met the Getty Images team.

"...and then changed our default license within a year of that meeting to make it more palatable to corporate ownership and ensure that users don't have leverage to object. Totally a coincidence, nothing to do with entertaining buyouts, no siree."

> This is not one of those tech acquisitions where the company is bought to be shut down.

...said pretty much every company that was bought to be shut down.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#233

Post by cube00 » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 2:33 AM UTC

yellowapple wrote: post #232

This demonstrates rather plainly that the paranoia (from myself and others) around the "Unsplash license" was warranted. > In 2016, we first met the Getty Images team. "...and then changed our default license within a year of that meeting to make it more palatable to corporate ownership and ensure that users don't have leverage to object. Totally a coincidence, nothing to do with entertaining buyouts, no siree." > Th…

I never understand why companies being acquired make statements like this. You're acquired, you no longer have control, you can no longer stand behind any statement with complete and absolute authority.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#234

Post by dannyw » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 2:36 AM UTC

busymom0 wrote: post #216

nitrogen wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you really need a picture of a human, you could just...get that person's permission instead of whining about free not being "free."

I don't see it as whining. These companies are in the business of providing photos for people to be able to use. If their TOS is so vague that one simply cannot use any photos without knowing what the TOS allows or not - then the core purpose of the company has failed. If FB and others are to be used as an example, these TOS are written vague and broad on purpose.

We appreciate the feedback, and will discuss internally to see if we can make this clause more specific and objective.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#235

Post by mkr-hn » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 2:47 AM UTC

goldenchrome wrote: post #183

Boltgolt wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then there's Instagram, who only did square photos and nothing else for years

I think you're misrepresenting Instagram. Instagram is a personal PR platform where images are the primary vehicle. In that sense Instagram is closer to Twitter (text-based PR dissemination) than Unsplash.

Unsplash mostly served two groups:

1: people who uploaded as lead generation for professional photography, or some other product or service

2: people who just thought it was cool when someone used one of their photos

The only difference between it and Instagram is Unsplash didn't allow text images or videos.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#236

Post by shostack » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:12 AM UTC

cube00 wrote: post #233

yellowapple wrote: post #232

This demonstrates rather plainly that the paranoia (from myself and others) around the "Unsplash license" was warranted. > In 2016, we first met the Getty Images team. "...and then changed our default license within a year of that meeting to make it more palatable to corporate ownership and ensure that users don't have leverage to object. Totally a coincidence, nothing to do with entertaining buyouts, no siree." > Th…

I never understand why companies being acquired make statements like this. You're acquired, you no longer have control, you can no longer stand behind any statement with complete and absolute authority.

Because some not-insignificant of concerned end users will believe it and continue using the site, thus helping keep numbers on track for any deal terms or earn out targets.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#237

Post by caslon » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:27 AM UTC

lioeters wrote: post #221

cpach wrote: post #101

”Intellectual property is the oil of the 21 century. Look at the richest men a hundred years ago; they all made their money extracting natural resources or moving them around. All today’s richest men have made their money out of intellectual property.“ –Mark Getty, founder of Getty Images https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Getty

Ugh, what a clueless analogy, blind to its own obsolescence and polluting effect on society.

It's actually a perfect and terribly perceptive analogy. He's right! Like Rockefeller and Carnegie and his grandfather before him, he's made a load of money and made the world a worse place while doing it, all the while not even attempting to contribute anything to society.

He doesn't claim to be a good man, he claims to be a rich man.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#238

Post by shayanbahal » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 3:51 AM UTC

swyx wrote: post #107

does anyone have any guesstimates about their business side of things? i know they raised a series A focused on crypto ( https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/15/unsplash-simple-token-seri... ) but ironically they seem to have completely missed out on this NFT wave. serving up that many images every day is costly. im guessing they ran out of money.

That is a pretty interesting point. They could have gained more credit ($$$) and media attention from integrating NFT minting functionality for their huge user base.

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#239

Post by imagequeen » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 4:08 AM 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…

Have you seen www.scop.io they focus on diverse artists and have a great community @scopioimages

Re: Unsplash is being acquired by Getty Images

#240

Post by imagequeen » Wed, Mar 31, 2021, 4:10 AM UTC

teryyy wrote: post #79

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…

https://www.pexels.com/ is another similar site, owned by Canva which seems to have kept its quality through the years.

With this acquisition, there are no independent free photo sites anymore! Maybe free photo time is up?