A couple of my clients received sobering letters from Getty images to pay for the right to use a photo on their website. One bill was $700.00, the other was $11,000.00. Each client was unaware of the ownership of the photos, which had both been using the images for about 10 years. Getty had calculated this into their “bill”– that’s how intuitive their information is. They have been aggressively pursuing anyone using their images.

The news today Getty is offering 35 million images for use is a stunning surprise. Read more. For those searching for archival photos this will be a big help. As a website owner: read the fine print. Be sure the image is allowed on a commercial website. While Getty is allowing images to be used on blogs and social media, don’t interpret this to mean “any and all uses”. Also be aware Getty can change their mind at any time, and once you are using their image, with their required code intact, they can easily track the image.

Lastly: Getty is not allowing “resizing” of the image, your layout will need to be adjusted to accommodate the image.

This might be the answer for that 1950’s farm tractor photo you’ve been trying to find!