Contract Change 2021 - Official thread

[Flash68]

4 hours ago, Colblimp said:

Haha, just had a warning for 'swearing' and my comment removed, as if I could care less. Seriously, this company is laughable.

So someone is reading the comments!

[Cecile Marion]

1 hour ago, Doc said:

Well said Cryptoprocta. Alamy must absolutely guarantee that if an image has been annotated for editorial use only, for example, that they will not sell that image for any other purpose including commercial/advertising use without the specific agreement of the contributor, both for images already on sale, and for those yet to be submitted after July. . Especially given that Alamy appears to be also putting responsibility on the contributor for legal problems arising from purchaser's usage of the images. The contributor remains the copyright holder of the image, and it is up to us to decide how our images are to be used. Unless this is made very clear, then this contributor will be carefully considering his position, after 17 years with Alamy, and I suspect many of the others here will be doing the same.

 

Kumar 

I totally agree. The majority of my photographs are marked for editorial use only and must remain so. They cannot be used for commercial/advertising and Alamy must guarantee they will abide by my designations.

[Martin P Wilson]

8 minutes ago, Flash68 said:

So someone is reading the comments!

I got a couple ofpermanent dermerit points for repeating myself yesterday 😒

Edited May 19, 2021 by Martin P Wilson
clarification

[Bill Kuta]

OK, I have located a copy of the current (7 Jan 2019) contract, and clause 8.3 does not say that Alamy can promote through use of "complimentary Content." The new contract does. This was omitted from the Contract Changes document.

 

So how would that be done? Would individual images be licensed for free (with usage terms) to individual buyers/potential buyers? Or what? RM and RF?

Edited May 19, 2021 by Bill Kuta

[wilkopix]

9 minutes ago, Flash68 said:

So someone is reading the comments!

I really hope so and I hope they realise how unhappy many of their contributors are. It's not just the drop in commission but also the rather worrying legal implacations arising from the new contract.

I've been faithful to Alamy for 18 years through good years and bad and now it feels a bit like they are pushing for a divorce :)  .. Reluctantly I've just started to eye up some of their neighbours ...

[hotbrightsky]

1 hour ago, Martin P Wilson said:

I am a member of the NUJ, as are a good few other Alamy contributors, but don't see unions able to provide much help in the current circumstances.

 

Have you contacted NUJ regarding this matter and if so what has been their advice?

[Bill Kuta]

Have had enough of this for a while. We're going out cycling 🚴‍♀️

[MizBrown]

3 hours ago, Foreign Export said:

 

it will be very difficult for Alamy to legally enforce any part of the contract with this degree of omissions from it

 

 

Has anyone asked a UK lawyer to take a look at this?   

[MDM]

1 minute ago, MizBrown said:

 

Has anyone asked a UK lawyer to take a look at this?   

Forget that.  There are no omissions. It was a mistake I made in misreading the docs that he is referring to. 

[MizBrown]

18 minutes ago, MDM said:

Forget that.  There are no omissions. It was a mistake I made in misreading the docs that he is referring to. 

 

In general, it would be nice to have one of the UK members get a lawyer to take a look at it.  

 

Edited May 19, 2021 by MizBrown
put a lawyer in the picture

[Ed Rooney]

 

I treated myself to a slap-up French(ish) lunch today for the first time in about a year. That seems to have solved all these problems -- at least for an hour. Maybe it was that large glass of Sancerre? 🤪

[Vitor from Portugal]

Almost paying to post pictures... If you have to pay some model, or buy a drink to some friend or spend some cash to travel to take the picture you want... Stock photography is not paying the real value of the work and effort... It's declining real fast! 

 

Cheers 🥂

[Martin P Wilson]

21 minutes ago, hotbrightsky said:

 

Have you contacted NUJ regarding this matter and if so what has been their advice?

 

No,, because I have not been active on Alamy for several years. Decision I was pondfering was whether to restart or leave and it I am clearier to making my decision. I am not sure my new plans woiuld fit with Alamy in any case.

[Bill Kuta]

And Miz Brown, thanks for the nom de plume. Interesting google.

[MizBrown]

2 minutes ago, Bill Kuta said:

And Miz Brown, thanks for the nom de plume. Interesting google.

I told one agent I was a mid-list author.  She was horrified and didn't take me on as a client.

[meanderingemu]

26 minutes ago, Paul J said:

 

I have questioned this, with the unsatisfactory response below. I do not want Alamy contacting my clients with what I would assume are threatening emails full of legal jargon without consulting with me first. Not sure if I can be bothered to mark all my images as non-exclusive. I may just ask for account deletion as I earn relative peanuts from them.

 

'As per the new contract Alamy can chase infringements for images exclusive to Alamy without needing to contact the contributor first (as of July 1^st).  

 We will always ask the infringer in the first instance whether they already have a license in place before requesting payment from them in case they have licensed the image directly via yourself.'

 

 

so @Alamy why did you ask us to make an election 2 weeks ago, and further stated that this could be changed with just an e-mail? 

 

 

[Cryptoprocta]

2 minutes ago, meanderingemu said:

 

 

so @Alamy why did you ask us to make an election 2 weeks ago, and further stated that this could be changed with just an e-mail? 

 

 

No long or medium term planning

[meanderingemu]

5 minutes ago, Sally R said:

If I decide to terminate my contract, my understanding is I give Alamy 45 days notice. They in turn state they will do the following:

1. On termination Alamy will:
   1. delete from the Alamy Websites any Content provided by you under this Contract;
   2. continue to report to you in respect of Licences granted prior to the date of termination of this Contract or Licences granted after the date of termination of this Contract as permitted herein;
   3. not return to you any data, of whatever kind, relating to any Content or the Content itself.

However, it has also has been stated in this thread that the images stay up for 6 months. Can someone point me to where this is in the contract? If images stay up for 6 months that contradicts the above where it states that the images will be removed at the point of termination which would be at 45 days.

 

Alamy announced the changed contract 44 days prior to the 1 July, thus less than 45 days away. But presumably if I quit before the 1 July I am doing so under the terms of the existing contract.

 

 

 

the 45 days does not apply for termination due to change, so your termination will be June 30th. 

 

You may have to argue on licensing prior to date date, but reported post, but since it seems you would never have agreed to the new changes they should contractually be on the old basis.

[Martin P Wilson]

7 minutes ago, Sally R said:

If I decide to terminate my contract, my understanding is I give Alamy 45 days notice. They in turn state they will do the following:

1. On termination Alamy will:
   1. delete from the Alamy Websites any Content provided by you under this Contract;
   2. continue to report to you in respect of Licences granted prior to the date of termination of this Contract or Licences granted after the date of termination of this Contract as permitted herein;
   3. not return to you any data, of whatever kind, relating to any Content or the Content itself.

However, it has also has been stated in this thread that the images stay up for 6 months. Can someone point me to where this is in the contract? If images stay up for 6 months that contradicts the above where it states that the images will be removed at the point of termination which would be at 45 days.

 

Alamy announced the changed contract 44 days prior to the 1 July, thus less than 45 days away. But presumably if I quit before the 1 July I am doing so under the terms of the existing contract.

 

 

My understanding the six months is if the contributor deletes the images. I seem to recall those who have terminated their contract the images disappeared on terminmation,

 

The 45 days probably does not apply as you are simply not accepting the new contract and Alamy are terminating the old contract on 30 June - they have given the 45 days notice.

 

I notice there is no mention of making payments, but as they may still report licences the money should follow, eventually and hopefully without the $50 threshold.

 

But I am not a lawyer ...

[meanderingemu]

2 minutes ago, Cryptoprocta said:

No long or medium term planning

 

 

Also curious how this related to the Blog comment about 

 

"Since launching our infringements programme, we’re discovering that a significant minority of contributors have not been forthcoming about other arrangements, or forgot to change their settings when they listed elsewhere"

 

 

This happened 2 weeks ago.....  So this new contract change was all developed in TWO WEEKS?  

[Martin P Wilson]

3 minutes ago, Martin P Wilson said:

 

My understanding the six months is if the contributor deletes the images. I seem to recall those who have terminated their contract the images disappeared on terminmation,

 

The 45 days probably does not apply as you are simply not accepting the new contract and Alamy are terminating the old contract on 30 June - they have given the 45 days notice.

 

I notice there is no mention of making payments, but as they may still report licences the money should follow, eventually and hopefully without the $50 threshold.

 

But I am not a lawyer ...

Sorry Meanderingemu posted as I did, and just beat me to it.

Edited May 19, 2021 by Martin P Wilson
typo

[meanderingemu]

1 minute ago, Sally R said:

 

 

Thanks Emu and Martin. I think I get it now.

 

the appropriate clause is 20.1.3 (sorry numbering gets messed up in pasting)

 

1. You may terminate this Contract:
   1.  
   2.  
   3. where Alamy gives 45 days’ notice to vary the Contract pursuant to clause 19.1, by written notice to Alamy at any time during that 45 day period expiring at the end thereof.

[meanderingemu]

4 minutes ago, Martin P Wilson said:

Sorry Meanderingemu posted as I did, and just beat me to it.

 

 

i had caught the typo, and let me say I do long for the days of "meandering menu"....  soon i hope....  .  

[Graham Morley]

I have read very page of this thread about the very disturbing new contract – I thought the contract change a couple of years ago was bad enough, but this change is deeply alarming, and it is clear many other contributors feel the same.

 

I am now retired from a working life as a professional photographer and am now concentrating on personal projects (and thoroughly enjoying it, too).  In recent years have only been putting pics onto Alamy occasionally and still have a very small portfolio that does pay very well in terms of rights sales for the size of my portfolio – significantly above $250 p.a. gross.

 

If the changes to the contract only involved commission rate changes I would grumble, and then probably accept the new deal, whilst having the greatest of sympathy for others, particularly working professional photographers, who rely on Alamy and have had a pay cut they can ill afford.

 

However, various changes to other parts of the contract regarding liability, and control of image use, make me feel that Alamy is not an organisation I can continue to do business with. Unless there are significant changes to the new contract, I shall shortly give written notice that I will not accept the new contract.

 

I know withdrawing my portfolio will make no difference to Alamy, but it will make a big difference to my own peace of mind and self-respect.

[Martin P Wilson]

9 minutes ago, Graham Morley said:

I have read very page of this thread about the very disturbing new contract – I thought the contract change a couple of years ago was bad enough, but this change is deeply alarming, and it is clear many other contributors feel the same.

 

I am now retired from a working life as a professional photographer and am now concentrating on personal projects (and thoroughly enjoying it, too).  In recent years have only been putting pics onto Alamy occasionally and still have a very small portfolio that does pay very well in terms of rights sales for the size of my portfolio – significantly above $250 p.a. gross.

 

If the changes to the contract only involved commission rate changes I would grumble, and then probably accept the new deal, whilst having the greatest of sympathy for others, particularly working professional photographers, who rely on Alamy and have had a pay cut they can ill afford.

 

However, various changes to other parts of the contract regarding liability, and control of image use, make me feel that Alamy is not an organisation I can continue to do business with. Unless there are significant changes to the new contract, I shall shortly give written notice that I will not accept the new contract.

 

I know withdrawing my portfolio will make no difference to Alamy, but it will make a big difference to my own peace of mind and self-respect.

 

I think many people are thinking along similarr lines. I would have thought it would trouble the Platinum, and Gold,  contributors more than Silver. That could actuaally backfire on Alamy if that is the case. I don't know where else they could go though. Rock and a Hard Place I think.