Getty Images Sues Microsoft Over New Online Photo Tool

Apparently Getty Images isn't too happy with Microsoft these days. I've never used the "massive infringement tool" aka the Bing Image Widget, have any of you?

A new Microsoft Corp product that allows website publishers to embed digital photographs on their sites is a "massive infringement" of copyrighted images, Getty Images Inc claimed in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York on Thursday.

Click to expand...

Looks like we have a title bout on our hands!

doesn't the image on the widget link back to the source website with the ability to purchase or license said image? I see no problem with this.
It's like showing an image of Amazon's logo and if you click it you go to Amazon's website, and Amazon suing the company that made the tool that brings shoppers to their site.

Learn to secure your own products. If you don't want images easily available to an application like this, don't put them in public Internet space.

Is this the same Getty Images who released 350 million 35mm photos to the public domain a few years ago? I wish they'd make up their minds.

BTW the out here is a distributed search engine (YaCy etc). Infinitely more powerful than a single source, even Google, and results can be properly weighted instead the current abominations we get from Bing and Google.

Getty is right.
I would sue MS and the websites for infringement for using my images I have online in this widget.

I also think Getty is right.

Getty is in the right in this case. Protoform-X is not factoring in the fact that sites that are showing Getty images have paid for the right to show the said image, but when MS grabs it with this embed tool, it didn't obtain that said right to redistribute it...

Zepher said:

doesn't the image on the widget back to the source website with the ability to purchase or license said image? I see no problem with this.
It's like showing an image of Amazon's logo and if you click it you go to Amazon's website, and Amazon suing the company that made the tool that brings shoppers to their site.

Click to expand...

Doesn't matter what you "think seems okay", the law is a little more specific. Microsoft is co-opting and monetizing protected IP.

Similar stupid shit they pulled trying to bolster the metro store by creating knockoff apps of popular android/iOS apps and then using official (copyrighted) company logos in the apps yo give the appearance that those companies had something to do with it. Didnt work, companies sent C&D's to MS.

This might all be a little more forgivable if Microsoft werent just as big of sharks if not worse about protecting their own stuff market segments theyre ahead in. Example the list of companies they've sued and C&D'd for having a hint of the word Office or Word in their software is a mile long. In markets they now are hopelessly behind in they try to steal and skim whatever they can.

I'm kind of surprised that there are still pro pirate responses to stories like these. Perhaps I'm just getting old.

Crap, got my windows mixed up. I wanted to say: "Seems to me that wouldn't they just contact Microsoft first about their concerns and if no action then seek legal action? It's only been a few days."