PicScout’s Image Tracker software has helped Glen Carner’s Hawaiian Art Network dramatically grow revenue in less than a year by locating infringements and assisting in the collection of appropriate fees for unauthorized uses. Currently, revenue recovered from infringements accounts for about 50% of Hawaiian Art Network’s income.
Hawaiian Art Network is a small agency, but its two Web sites—HawaiiPictures.com and HawaiiArt.com—have top Google ranking and represent some of Hawaii’s leading artists and photographers. While the artists represented are enthusiastic about the sites, they are also concerned about protecting their works. Carver has discovered that as his sites grow in popularity, so do infringements.
“When you have powerful Web sites such as we do, non-legitimate usage can exceed legitimate use by 10 times,” Carner said. He also estimates that for every infringement the company discovers, there are 10 more yet to be found.
The company offers rights-managed images at a full range of prices, from $150 for blog use to $2,500 for magazine covers. It also sells prints for $10 to $498 depending on size.
In November 2009, Hawaiian Art Network began using PicScout’s ImageTracker, at first only tracking image uses in the U.S. As of July 2010, the company expanded image tracking to include Germany, France and the U.K.
PicScout sends monthly usage reports to the Hawaiian Art Network via an easy-to-use Web interface. Hawaiian Art Network then reviews the reports, determines the legitimacy of each use and, in most cases, sends the reports directly to a PicScout-identified legal partner for resolution. (Hawaiian Art Network may contact the infringing party directly if it so chooses.) The legal partner contacts the infringing party, advises them of the infringement and directs them to pay an appropriate fee as compensation.
Carner said, “We are not in the business of looking for lawsuits. We generally accept fair offers in line with industry standards. PicScout provides us with the information we need to collect appropriate license fees.”
He continued, “Image Tracker is an essential part of our current and future efforts, and we can’t see doing business online without it. There is a significant amount of work involved in pursuing infringements. I wish the money just rolled in, but there is a bunch of leg work that goes into supporting the tracker.”