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BrandsoftheWorld.com

Fred Weiss

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
Noticed something interesting today while researching something unrelated ...

BrandsoftheWorld.com, which started out as a Russian logo downloading website featuring all kinds of unauthorized uploads of vectored logos and which grew exponentially by viral word of mouth to huge popularity, is now a part of Web Media Brands who evidently also owns Jupiter Media Group who operates Clipart.com, Photos.com, Graphics.com, and Dynamic Graphics along with a host of other creative media sites. Then looking a bit further, I find that Web Media Brands is owned by Getty Images who is one of the largest providers of creative content and digital images in the world and who also purchased iStockPhoto.com a short while back.

We are living in a strange new world.
 
Replicator

Replicator

New Member
I use BOTW all the time for corporate logos, but only if the company I'm working for is a branch of the company whose logo I need to use . . .

On the other hand I've uploaded several local area logos to BOTW that I have recreated and wanted others to have access too . . . My Bad !
 
Fred Weiss

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
Looking down the list, one would almost conclude they are verging in being a monopoly. Ironically, the major reason they are not is Corbis.com which is owned by Bill Gates.
 
iSign

iSign

New Member
not exactly related, but i still wonder about that Facebook fiasco when they changed the user agreement to state that any photos posted by anyone, belongs to Facebook... which under pressure I believe there were claims that the terms changed to a less oppressive state... not that I fully researched it, or fully believe it... then of course there was the conspiricy theory that a government face regcognition software was behind that fiasco...

and on a slightly related topic, Fred... do you remember someone posting a link to a free downloadable program called "Cool-Iris" ? I was at home on my laptop where i am more willing to live a little more dangerously, with regard to the internet & downloads.. so it looked interesting & I dl'd it... onlt to check back to that thread & see that you had posted about looking a little deeper into the terms of use & you mentioned something like a release of rights to any images viewed in this image viewer.. so I tried to uninstall it, and have not been able to figure out how to do that. So much for living dangerously... I guess I need to learn more about how something like this can hide out & not show in the programs list.
 
Fred Weiss

Fred Weiss

Merchant Member
iSign said:
not exactly related, but i still wonder about that Facebook fiasco when they changed the user agreement to state that any photos posted by anyone, belongs to Facebook... which under pressure I believe there were claims that the terms changed to a less oppressive state... not that I fully researched it, or fully believe it... then of course there was the conspiricy theory that a government face regcognition software was behind that fiasco...

and on a slightly related topic, Fred... do you remember someone posting a link to a free downloadable program called "Cool-Iris" ? I was at home on my laptop where i am more willing to live a little more dangerously, with regard to the internet & downloads.. so it looked interesting & I dl'd it... onlt to check back to that thread & see that you had posted about looking a little deeper into the terms of use & you mentioned something like a release of rights to any images viewed in this image viewer.. so I tried to uninstall it, and have not been able to figure out how to do that. So much for living dangerously... I guess I need to learn more about how something like this can hide out & not show in the programs list.
Click to expand...

There's no doubt in my mind that control of data and information is the focus of lots of great minds and big players. Just look up the values placed on major websites at Bizinformation.org.

Worldwide Rank
Google is #1 at a valuation of $8.37 billion
Yahoo is #2 at a valuation of $6.7 billion
YouTube is #3 at a valuation of $4.86 billion
Facebook.com is #4 at a valuation of $5 billion
Live.com is #5 at a valuation of $6.67 billion

Yes I had Cool Iris installed and then removed it. I don't recall any difficulty. Did you use the Control Panel to uninstall it?
 
iSign

iSign

New Member
I can't recognize it in the add/remove programs list. if it's there, it isn't called cool iris...
 

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Typestries

Typestries

New Member
Funny you should mention this Fred. A friend of mine is a former Getty employee and now has his own botique photo agency. We talk about the Getty monopoly/trainwreck on the design world quite a bit. He posts a bit of neat info on his blog from time to ime http://elevationphotos.typepad.com/

Getty has one thing in mind, and thats to become the only online resource or digital art designers need, therefore setting prices and controlling the marketplace.

Apparently, there's more to come from them, too. Buyer beware.
 
Pat Whatley

Pat Whatley

New Member
I love the new format at BOTW, I just wonder how long it's going to be before you have to start paying for logos?

Fortunately there are other sites out there.
 
Bigdawg

Bigdawg

Just Me
If they do it will be a subscription service just like their other sites. And the new site is LOADS better than what was there. I hadn't realized Getty bought iStock, but should have when they started publishing the Veneer content. Had to buy one for a customer and didn't realize the cost was 5 times the other photos...
 
S

SignTech

Guest
iStock and Getty are a joke and thieves ......... I won't get into details unless you PM me ....... yes their images are good ......... mostly user supplied etc ......

Doesn't surprise me at all that they are all connected. Not a strange world at all .......... there are tons of shotty thieves in this world ........ most the best thieves are in plain sight ....... and look big ........ like Getty

Getty searches for people who might accidentaly use a non-watermarked picture on a google search. This happened 2 years ago to a lawyer friend. 200 x 300 pixel. It was a plant. No watermark, no copyrights, plain and simple accident. Did he get a cease and desist? No $1,200 fine ........... Getty lost ultimately (financially) and the picture was not used again ........

Does not surprise me at all that they are all connected ........
 
The Vector Doctor

The Vector Doctor

Chief Bezier Manipulator
As a corporate site they should also remove the forums that allow for anyone to ask for fonts, clipart, templates etc. Sure they mention it is illegal to do so but there are plenty of threads asking for these items and everyone chiming in with... here is my email send it to me too

None of their other companies have forums that allow for this. Nothing will prevent the spread of piracy, but having a portal to do so is bad business. I cannot imagine that getty or istock have a forum which allows you to ask for free images and/or artwork
 
Bigdawg

Bigdawg

Just Me
I find that very ironic that, as Vector Doctor said, the illegal file swapping is rampant on a site which is ultimately owned by one of the companies that will not hesitate to prosecute for using their images in a similar fashion...
 
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