Quote from: shudderstok on July 14, 2013, 21:21

whatever the legalism is, i am pretty sure the lawyers at both getty and istock have sorted this out and concluded that "from" is acceptable by the letter of the law.

Or maybe they just reckon that nobody will sue because it would be too expensive and there's too little for anyone to gain from it.  I read that in Canada most false advertising cases taken up by the authorities are settled amicably with the error being corrected and nobody paying any penalty. On balance, there seems to be very little risk to them, whether it's a violation or not.

In the UK, there's often a lot of bad publicity around such cases, but some companies feel any publicity is good publicity.

one could also argue that this is not advertising as it could also be a posted category of image internally on their site??? i don't think they are using the term "only from iStock" in advertising materials externally of the site.

International sites trading in the UK must follow UK guidelines.
From the ASA:
"The types of ads we deal with include:
    Magazine and newspaper advertisements
    Radio and TV commercials (not programmes or programme sponsorship)
    Television Shopping Channels
    Advertisements on the Internet, including:
        banner and display ads
        paid-for (sponsored) search
        Marketing on companies� own websites and in other space they control like social networking sites Twitter and Facebook
    Commercial e-mail and SMS text message ads
    Posters on legitimate poster sites (not fly posters)
    Leaflets and brochures
    Cinema commercials
    Direct mail (advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally)
    Door drops and circulars (advertising posted through the letter box without your name on)
    Ads on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and faxes
    Sales promotions, such as special offers, prize draws and competitions wherever they appear.
Online behavioural advertising"
http://www.asa.org.uk/Consumers/What-we-cover.aspx
What does 'online behavioural advertising' mean? Does it mean that 'only from iStock' might alter a buyer's behaviour so that s/he just clicks on that image rather than looking elsewhere? I guess that's the point of the claim.

In Canada:
"Advertising" and "advertisement(s)" are defined as any message (the content of which is controlled directly or indirectly by the advertiser) expressed in any language and communicated in any medium (except those listed under Exclusions) to Canadians with the intent to influence their choice, opinion or behaviour.
http://www.adstandards.com/en/standards/canCodeOfAdStandards-feb2013.aspx#definitions