Author Topic: RM sales on our Symbiostock sites (Read 3720 times)

steheap · « **on:** May 07, 2013, 11:08 »

Something to think about - does this make sense?

A RF license gives someone a defined set of uses (with no limitations on geography or length of use) but there are limitations on usage - ie the basic license doesn't cover use on a product for resale, for instance. For that you buy an extended license.

A RM license generally puts a defined use into the agreement and payment is often based on that usage or geography - so you can have a price for more copies or a price for using in more territories and also it often has a defined usage timeframe.

However, the pricing of an RM license is up to the seller, so you could have a price for a RM file that gives unlimited territories or timeframe. If you think about the core difference between these two licenses - we don't know the uses that an image is put to under an RF license, we often specify and agree that usage under RM.

So, doesn't that mean that if we have our own sites and we know who our own buyers are, that we could offer the equivalent of an RM license but under one price? So, we could sell an image on Alamy as RM and sell the same image on our own sites as a pseudo RM (one price for a defined set of usages)?

Steve

Pinocchio · « **Reply #1 on:** May 07, 2013, 17:07 »

I see absolutely no reason why you could not offer RM licenses for your images. PhotoShelter has had that capability for a long time (we have a site there), and I believe that PhotoDeck supports it too.

Hoping this is helpful - I apologize if you're already aware of it:

One of the historical difficulties with RM (for both buyers and sellers) has been the difficulty of keeping track of the license terms. Jeff Sedlik has done a lot of work formulating a standard set of terms for RM licenses, and it's machine-readable; you can read about it at https://www.useplus.com/index.asp . The IPTC has updated its metadata standards to incorporate the PLUS work (according to the IPTC web site), and I've seen claims that it has also been incorporated into Photoshop CS6 (I'm still running CS4 so can't confirm). BAPLA has apparently endorsed/adopted the PLUS proposals as well, but it's not clear to me what practical effect that will have.

At the risk of appearing to promote a product, if you decide to try RM it might be worthwhile taking a look at FotoQuote from Cradoc software to help with pricing. PhotoShelter users have access to this tool; there have been recent complaints that it was not being updated, but that may be resolved with Cradoc's recent release of a major update to their FotoBiz software.

A few months ago I asked Cradoc if they were going to align the structure of FotoQuote pricing with the structure in the PLUS metadata, and they said "NO", and went on to say that no-one was using the PLUS metadata. However, now that the IPTC has incorporated the PLUS work into the IPTC metadata standard, Cradoc may have to review that position... Perhaps I should ask again..

Regards

Leo Blanchette · « **Reply #2 on:** May 07, 2013, 17:16 »

[delete]

Pinocchio · « **Reply #3 on:** May 07, 2013, 18:57 »

Ok, I've probably said more than enough for one day, but I have to add that the PLUS stuff is RF/RM agnostic - it does not care, so it may well be possible to support an approach to licensing that is unique to Symbiostock. The PLUS web site has some demos of how you can make your own customized licenses by clicking through a tree of selections (search for "PLUS Media Selector").

@Leo: you have quite an entertaining turn of phrase, Lego is obviously good for you....

Regards

Leo Blanchette · « **Reply #4 on:** May 07, 2013, 19:51 »

I just realized my answer was a little off-topic!

YES - anything standard and machine readable / legally recognized is good. I really hope everyone gets involved to some degree, trying to find ways to get away from the RF thing entirely - if Symbiostock could adopt a system that standardizes licensing and is of higher value to artist and customer - that would be great.

Like I said (in the post I deleted because it was too off-topic) just tell me the direction you'd like to take it and its like a new lego set to me

I'll just get building. And who cares if your promoting a product!

Promote away.

My personal hope is that Symbiostock sites can depart from the "cheap" and "free" competition and take on a culture of its own. I'm sure such things as above will factor in.

hotwalkn · « **Reply #5 on:** May 07, 2013, 20:09 »

Quote from: Leo on May 07, 2013, 19:51

I just realized my answer was a little off-topic!

YES - anything standard and machine readable / legally recognized is good. I really hope everyone gets involved to some degree, trying to find ways to get away from the RF thing entirely - if Symbiostock could adopt a system that standardizes licensing and is of higher value to artist and customer - that would be great.

Like I said (in the post I deleted because it was too off-topic) just tell me the direction you'd like to take it and its like a new lego set to me I'll just get building. And who cares if your promoting a product! Promote away.

My personal hope is that Symbiostock sites can depart from the "cheap" and "free" competition and take on a culture of its own. I'm sure such things as above will factor in.

Leo, if you could install a drop down option that allows us to select which license is assigned to each image, I'll be in happy mode for a long time! Wait...no...maybe not THAT long, but I'd still be a happy camper.

Leo Blanchette · « **Reply #6 on:** May 07, 2013, 20:17 »

After the very big "networking" release I'm going to be making one specially designed to have licensing power. I really like the links shown above - it seems very useful. This is a community project - anything that comes our way (like the https://www.useplus.com/index.asp) I think people should look into that and think creatively together. In the end if you come and say "we've all decided, it would be nice to have..." its then ready for me to start building.

You guys should look into it. After the networking release this will be a big subject with its own "special" update.