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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: bestravelvideo on June 15, 2017, 10:39

Title: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: bestravelvideo on June 15, 2017, 10:39
Just received an email from Videoblocks stating the addition of a new, editorial feature.
Prior to that, today when uploading, I have already seen a new tick space with the editorial category next to it, for us to choose it or not.
They also mention that in the future, we could (doesn't for now say should) do that to already published material.
One of the question that rises is if this material will be reviewed faster or not.



Title: Re: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: stockmn on June 15, 2017, 13:58
I'm more interested in this change from a legal standpoint. If it's up to us to mark our work as editorial or not who bears the legal responsibility when a client uses a clip that is marked incorrectly as commercial when shouldn't be? Ultimately it should always be the legal responsibility of the client to determine if their use of a clip is correct or not but I suppose it depends on how the Videoblocks license agreement reads.
Title: Re: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: JoeClemson on June 16, 2017, 03:47
I'm more interested in this change from a legal standpoint. If it's up to us to mark our work as editorial or not who bears the legal responsibility when a client uses a clip that is marked incorrectly as commercial when shouldn't be? Ultimately it should always be the legal responsibility of the client to determine if their use of a clip is correct or not but I suppose it depends on how the Videoblocks license agreement reads.

At the end of the day it is, or at least should be, the responsibility of the client whether material is used correctly as editorial or commercial. However, the contributor always runs the risk of being drawn into any legal action and is, therefore, wise to at the very least make sure the clip is properly described and the availability or not of  releases is made clear.

I, for one, welcome this move from Videoblocks. I have held back from uploading my editorial clips to VB precisely because until now there was no unambiguous way of distinguishing editorial clips from commercial clips on their site.  Casual or occasional customers may not be fully cognisant of the ways editorial clips can and cannot be used  and anything which the agency does to draw attention to the fact that a particular clip is for editorial use only, and that the use of editorial material  subject to different rules, is a good move.

I would be happier still if VB made the difference between using editorial and commercial material abundantly clear on their customer facing site. My reading of their buyer FAQs suggests to me that an uninformed purchaser could easily come away with the impression that any clip they licensed from VB could be used commercially as long as it is incorporated in a modified form in their own creative work.

Title: Re: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: odesigns on June 16, 2017, 10:36
There is, however, a difference between "editorial" and "not released" clips.  No agency approaches this properly in my opinion.

"Editorial" is for newsworthy events.  That one is easy.  But all agencies tend dump "not released" into the "editorial" category, which causes even more confusion.

"Not released" might be a clip of a city with some incidental logos or faces (i.e., not focusing on one particular person, logo, or building), but isn't necessarily "newsworthy."  Usually, agencies simply throw the "editorial" tags on these clips (if they make it past the reviewers).

I talked to Shutterstock about this a few years ago, and while they understand this difference, they didn't seem to have a plan in place to differentiate between them on the site.

So until that time, the "editorial" category will continue to include normal, non-newsworthy "not released" clips.

I think an easy solution is to not include non-newsworthy, non-released clips in their "editorial" collection and simply make it abundantly clear that "not released" clips have no releases.  Then, have wording in their licensing agreement stating that for such material, the customer must take the initiative to clear the clips for commercial use.  Most agencies do have a "released: yes or no" area when viewing a clip, but I think it's not obvious and many customers probably overlook it.
Title: Re: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: increasingdifficulty on June 16, 2017, 11:05
There is, however, a difference between "editorial" and "not released" clips.  No agency approaches this properly in my opinion.

"Editorial" is for newsworthy events.  That one is easy.  But all agencies tend dump "not released" into the "editorial" category, which causes even more confusion.

"Not released" might be a clip of a city with some incidental logos or faces (i.e., not focusing on one particular person, logo, or building), but isn't necessarily "newsworthy."  Usually, agencies simply throw the "editorial" tags on these clips (if they make it past the reviewers).

I talked to Shutterstock about this a few years ago, and while they understand this difference, they didn't seem to have a plan in place to differentiate between them on the site.

So until that time, the "editorial" category will continue to include normal, non-newsworthy "not released" clips.

I think an easy solution is to not include non-newsworthy, non-released clips in their "editorial" collection and simply make it abundantly clear that "not released" clips have no releases.  Then, have wording in their licensing agreement stating that for such material, the customer must take the initiative to clear the clips for commercial use.  Most agencies do have a "released: yes or no" area when viewing a clip, but I think it's not obvious and many customers probably overlook it.

"Newsworthy" is not the definition of editorial.

"relating to the part of a newspaper or magazine which contains news, information, or comment as opposed to advertising."

or

"the parts of a newspaper or magazine which are not advertising."

It doesn't necessarily have to be newsworthy.
Title: Re: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: odesigns on June 16, 2017, 12:36
"Newsworthy" is not the definition of editorial.

While that may be true, it's not how some agencies define the term (https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/announcing-shutterstocks-new-editorial-guidelines), which only leads to more confusion for customers and producers.
Title: Re: Videoblocks New Feature Announcement: Tag your Editorial Content
Post by: emblem on June 17, 2017, 01:12
As far as I can see, even if you mark a clip editorial in your submission, there is still nothing to indicate that the clip is for editorial use on the customer's purchase page for that clip. If that's the case, marking something editorial is only a search function. That means that somebody could still buy an editorial clip and use it accidentally for a commercial purpose because it isn't marked as such.