|
MicrostockGroup Sponsors
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - DigitalDarrell
26
« on: February 27, 2007, 01:10 »
For anyone curious about this amazing exercise in the power of contract law here are links to my current contracts: Photographer's Terms & Conditions (for YOU, see bottom of signup form and click link for terms): http://www.purenaturestock.com/photographer_signup.phpLicensing Terms of Use (for buyer): http://www.purenaturestock.com/licensing.phpWebsite Terms of Use (for everyone who clicks on my site): http://www.purenaturestock.com/terms_of_use.phpDarrell's Lament:  Oh how I wish for the simpler days of youth, when a new bicycle and a kiss on the cheek by that pretty girl were my strongest desires. Now, I am am beset by lawyers dropping from the skies like rain, asserting that we all are crooks; hoping to goad us into suing one another, while forcing us to have Jurisdiction Clauses just to sell our humble photos for a few cents profit each. I thought digital photography and Photoshop were complex...but this...whoooeeeee! May you have a nice night's sleep, dream of new lenses, and awake fresh to take your best images ever! Warm Regards, Digital Darrell www.PureNatureStock.com, www.PlanetNikon.com
27
« on: February 27, 2007, 00:37 »
Don't get overly excited YingYang0! I never said that I was not going to use an attorney to finalize everything. I am forming an LLC as we speak. I am aware of the need for guidance in doing these licenses. I am adding information to the contracts to save time at the attorneys office. I will have all contracts in place before the sales begin. We are really just getting started. Here are my fresh new Integration and Jurisdiction Clauses: I. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION AND FORUM SELECTION. The parties hereto agree that all actions or proceedings arising in connection with this Agreement shall be tried and litigated exclusively in the State and Federal courts located in the County of Knox, State of Tennessee. The aforementioned choice of venue is intended by the parties to be mandatory and not permissive in nature, thereby precluding the possibility of litigation between the parties with respect to or arising out of this Agreement in any jurisdiction other than that specified in this paragraph. Each party hereby waives any right it may have to assert the doctrine of forum non conveniens or similar doctrine or to object to venue with respect to any proceeding brought in accordance with this paragraph, and stipulates that the State and Federal courts located in the County of Knox, State of Tennessee shall have in personam jurisdiction and venue over each of them for the purpose of litigating any dispute, controversy, or proceeding arising out of or related to this Agreement. Each party hereby authorizes and accepts service of process sufficient for personal jurisdiction in any action against it as contemplated by this paragraph by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to its address for the giving of notices as set forth in this Agreement. Any final judgement rendered against a party in any action or proceeding shall be conclusive as to the subject of such final judgement and may be enforced in other jurisdictions in any manner provided by law.
...
K. ENTIRE AGREEMENT. This Agreement (and any documents referred to in it) contains the whole agreement between the Parties relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and supersedes all previous understandings and agreements between the Parties relating to these transactions. Each Party acknowledges that, in agreeing to enter into this Agreement, it has not relied on any representation, warranty, collateral contract or other assurance (except those set out in this Agreement and any documents referred to in it) made by or on behalf of any other Party or any other person whatsoever before the execution of this Agreement. Each Party waives all rights and remedies which, but for this Clause, might otherwise be available to it in respect of any such representation, warranty, collateral contract or other assurance, provided that nothing in this Clause shall limit or exclude any liability for willful misconduct or fraud.Got any more great suggestions, oh lawyerly type? You have saved me a lot of time, and even reaffirmed my desire to set the LLC up quickly. You may have poisoned my new nature stock site (on this site) with your zealousness toward the law, but it will all work out fine in the end, I'm sure! DISCLAIMER: Anyone who uploads images just remember, our local forum attorney has warned us that the contracts should be in place first. Read my current upload contract and if it seems unclear, don't upload images. If you decide to sue me just after uploading images, simply read my Jurisdiction clause above, and you'll see clearly how to proceed.  In any case, I'm not some weird image stealing crook, just someone who loves nature, loves photography, loves people, and would like to make some money so he can buy bigger lenses.  What would this world be without lawyers? Why, we couldn't even figure out how to sue each other without them!  Hmmm... Warm Regards, Digital Darrell
28
« on: February 26, 2007, 20:48 »
Okay, the image licensing contract is rewritten in plain English, is easy to understand, and covers the bases for the type of business Pure Nature Stock does.
I am open to any other meaningful suggestions as to wording and clauses, but it appears to be substantially the same as other RF licensing contracts, except that it is easier to understand.
If you have questions or comments, let me know. Otherwise, let's go sell some images.
29
« on: February 26, 2007, 20:05 »
Excellent suggestions yingyang0. I appreciate your clear experience. I've seen you hanging around on SS also, and I often find your forum interventions effective remedies. I am a writer and can write well, so I am going to rewrite the contract with no lawyer-like terms, only easy to understand words. If you log in to read it for the next several hours, who knows what you find. I may add a clause that the image buyer must buy a hamburger once per year for each photographer.  I have added a Standard and Negotiated Extended license section. This will take several more hours to construct as I study 5 other agencies terms and conditions. It is vastly improved as it is now, but still needs conversion to plain English. I'll have this done by tomorrow. Now...back to work!
30
« on: February 26, 2007, 18:47 »
I have modified the terms of the END-USER contract from what you read above, to the following:
END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA). By downloading any image or material from our website, you hereby agree to the following terms and conditions as outlined herein, and as listed elsewhere on our website:
This agreement is made by and between Pure Nature Stock and the END-USER (otherwise listed herein as You or Your) who creates an account for the right to access, acquire, and use 'Materials' from this website.
Pure Nature Stock hereby represents that it is a non-exclusive agent of the creators of Materials presented for licensing by this website, and is not the holder of copyright to these materials. The creator of the Materials owns all rights and copyrights to their Materials on our website, and while being used by the END-USER (You) under the terms of this agreement.
'Materials' from our website will constitute and be defined as any photo, image, design, or layout represented on the Pure Nature Stock website. By downloading any Materials from Pure Nature Stock you are asserting your declaration that you have read, understood, and agreed to all terms and conditions listed in this Agreement, and otherwise identified on our website.
I will now proceed to the rest of the contract. I have an idea that I will limit the term of use by the end user to a specific period of time, along with a maximum number of uses of the licensed image. Many sites allow long-term usage of the image, but I don't think that is in our best interests. I am going to examine the terms of several major sites to see what they offer and adjust my terms.
As the muscleman said, "I'll be back..."
31
« on: February 26, 2007, 18:19 »
I can see that I was a little preliminary in accepting photographers yet. My terms are clearly not ready. Sorry for the aggravation. I'll get this fixed quickly.
32
« on: February 26, 2007, 18:16 »
This was the default wording to the terms. I will look at this closely. If you read my photographers terms you will find that I clearly state that the photographer always keeps his copyrights.
I appreciate the pointers here. I've not paid attention to these terms, as I did not write them. I am going to look at the file right now, and see what the problems are. I'll be back shortly.
33
« on: February 26, 2007, 14:58 »
I will create special categories for those with lots of images from a particular area. If you have considerable images from a state park or other beautiful area, I'll add a sub-category to our system just for your images. I mentioned limiting the number of photographers because I want each photographer to have a chance to make good sales, instead of being buried under thousands of other photographers, and millions of other images. To me, it would be better to have 5 or 10,000 super-duper images than 10 Million images of toasters on white backgrounds. There are plenty of stock agencies in this world, but very few of them are truly nature based. For years, it has been known that nature images do worst for photographers on big stock sites. It is not because few nature images are sold; there are probably more nature images sold than any other type. The problem is the massive competition in the nature field. So, I says to myself, "Self, why not form a pure nature stock agency, and market directly to book publishers, magazines, designers and other types that buy lots of nature images." Instead of just adding my images to the huge, gigantic, enormous pile of images in the other agencies, I thought I would form a real Nature Stock agency, and call it by the name of Pure Nature Stock. In fact, my logo is "Pure Nature ... Pure Stock ... PureNatureStock.com"So, even with others laughing that, "it will never work." And with some being concerned about my lame terms (since I'm not a lawyer), I'll press onward in my quest to form the world's best Pure Nature Stock agency. I'll hire a lawyer to write some really good terms soon, and solve that problem. First, I must acquire world class nature images, or even just plain beautiful nature images. Will we be successful? Who knows! The world is mean, fast, and tough. However, I know a few people, and know how to contact others. I'll get the clients. I need YOUR images. I think the commission rate is better than most, and with a smaller boutique agency base, there ought to be more opportunity for sales individually. Are you willing to take a chance? I have no idea how this will turn out, but I am going to work VERY hard to market this baby, and I think we'll be very successful. The only thing I lack (besides some better terms) is some great images from places like Maroon Bells near Aspen, CO. What chance will you take? Some uploading time, and extra keywording (yuck!). But, I think it will be worth it in the long run. You know you have some great nature images that agencies have rejected because, "We have too many of this type of image in our database." Well, we DON'T! We want them. We need them. We need YOU! Gotta walk before we run...be we'll be running in a reasonable time, I am sure of it! Submit your best ... hide the rest! Warm Regards, Digital Darrell www.PureNatureStock.com
34
« on: February 26, 2007, 14:22 »
Hello Professor! Yes, this is a learning experience for myself, and many of my photographers. I've been doing RF stock for about a year on all the other sites. I am also a writer for my own websites, a print magazine or two, and Nikonians.org. I know a few editors here and there. I have lots and lots and lots of sales and marketing experience from my "other" job. I am in the process of creating this site and will market it aggressively once you have uploaded those "wow" shots you were speaking of!  Here is my current pricing info which is right in line with iStock and other RF sites: $10.00 for 12+ Megapixel Full-Size JPEG $8.00 for 8-10 Megapixel Full-Size JPEG $6.00 for 6-7 Megapixel Full-Size JPEG $4.00 for 3-5 Megapixel Full-Size JPEG $3.00 - 1024 pixels wide Web-sized Large $2.00 - 800 pixels wide Web-sized Medium $1.00 - 400 pixels wide Web-sized Small Commissions are 50% of gross sales. I am going to limit the number of photographers that can join this site. I want to market people with talent, and develop an image base that will allow exclusive higher pricing in the future. Right now, I am just getting started and have a ways to go. PNS will be a Boutique agency with world class images soon. Especially once YOU start uploading! Warm Regards, Digital Darrell www.PureNatureStock.com
35
« on: February 26, 2007, 12:28 »
Hello all, I've been a member here for a while now. I own a large Nikon forum and website. (PlanetNikon.com) Recently, I started a new Nature Stock Agency with 50% commission. I have 15 photographers now. I hope I may humbly post my site here, so that others will know about it. It is new, and we are acquiring images. We offer FTP and HTTP uploads, IPTC data automatic pickup. Since this is a brand new site, we will have no sales initially. Once we break 1000 images (at 800 now) I will be actively marketing this site to book publishers, magazines, designers, etc. I will be marketing aggressively once I have enough images to market something. I am looking for premium quality nature stuff from around the world, and offer premium commission at 50% on gross sales. If allowed to make this post, here is a link to the site. The signup link is on the bottom left of the screen. (Use photographer, not member). Thank you for allowing me to make this post. If I am out of line, I apologize in advance. Come visit: http://www.purenaturestock.com/index.phpWarm Regards, Digital Darrell
36
« on: November 09, 2006, 00:01 »
I sold almost nothing on any of my sites yesterday. That is very unusual.
Could it be because it was election day, and people weren't in a buying mood?
37
« on: October 28, 2006, 23:18 »
Have they started accepting files larger than 6 megabytes yet? My D2x struggles to make files that small. I've not been submitting much to them for that reason alone.
38
« on: October 02, 2006, 22:58 »
The only thing that really bugs me about iStock is the serious limitation on uploading!  They are also very picky, and want the absolute best images you can make, and then only one angle of each. I do not really object to them wanting the best, since they are clearly trying to distance themselves from the other Microstock agencies by offering only top quality. In the long run, it will mean they have the best quality in the business and will attract a faithful buyer group. That will make a difference in sales for serious microstockers. In the short run, it will mean a lot of complaining on forums, and lots of hobby shooters will frequent less bothersome sites. In this world, everyone is looking for an edge. One can never go wrong by making the edge high quality. Of course, if they drive away a lot of photographers in the meantime, they will cause some damage to themselves. When they loosen the uploads a little, though, multitudes of photographers will submit again.  On a per sale basis, iStock pays the best for me. I often get $2.00 USD commission downloads, and my average is about $1.00 USD. Shutterstock makes up the difference in volume, but if you even begin to slow down with submission to them, the sales die quickly. I've not seen that with iStock. They seem much steadier to me. I've only been doing this for about two months now, and have already made a couple of hundred dollars USD. I have less than 250 images up on any of the five agencies I use, IS, SS, DT, FT, SX. I think it will take from one to two years to really see the income start flowing. I can see from looking at high-end sellers that one needs at least 2000-3000 images online to begin making serious money. Correct me if I'm wrong! I'm in this for the long run and want to gradually replace normal income with the annuitized income of microstock. I like iStock and will continue adding my 20 images per week until they finally raise the limit again. If my sales stop...I'll think twice, but so far, they have been pretty good on iStock, so I won't complain too much. This whole microstock RF business paradigm is new and even the biggest agencies don't have it figured out yet. I've wanted to sell stock since 1980, but never had the mass of images to get a Rights Managed agency to look at me. Royalty Free is great, since I can build as I go. I've got maybe 30,000 film images, and about 15,000 digital images. I have a lot of work ahead of me.  So, no, I have not slowed down with uploading. I still cram my 20 images per week into the queue. I'll keep doing it until they'll allow more. If it bugs you too much, buy the ImageManager Pro 5.2 Software for $20.00 USD. It makes submissions to iStock much faster and considerably easier.
39
« on: September 20, 2006, 23:06 »
I prefer not to buy products where I've never heard of the company, but thats just me. I stick to Kingston for my memory needs really. I like the storage thingy suggested by freezing pictures.
I can appreciate how you feel. I felt that way myself! What I found out was that by doing only a little reasearch that RiData has been around a long time in CD/DVD sales, and at the Photokina trade show that the new 8GB 150X CF card was released as one of the new memory products. My Nikon D2X loves the card, and the fact that it is 150x blows away Kingston, Lexar, SanDisk and any other manufacturer at this time, for cost and performance per dollar spent. I think you will find that this card is only the leading edge of new prices on memory cards of all types. Competition has arrived...look out Lexar! Check out this Photokina report: http://www.photokina-show.com/0256/ritek/flashmemorycard/ridatacompactflash/If my $5000 USD Nikon D2X loves the card, I'm sure other cameras will be happy too. Warm Regards, Digital Darrellwww.DigitalDarrell.com
40
« on: September 20, 2006, 22:27 »
I downloaded and installed the program. It is nice, and well worth the limited amount of money it costs. However, the program could be seriously improved by tracking two additional items: 1. Grand Totals on all columns. 2. Daily Downloads Personally, I use the IStock widget to be notified when a sale takes place. I also run all my agencies in separate tabs in FireFox so that I can watch daily sales. The currently collected information is nice. But even more important are DAILY downloads and notification of those downloads. I want to know when I make a sale, so that I can go look at which image sold. It makes microstock fun. Since I am only up to about 225 images, it will be a while before I make any serious money, although the $200.00 per month I am making now is nice. So, to make myself feel better about the time I am spending taking, processing, uploading, and keywording all these image, I need some recreational sales viewing. Give me DAILY SALES!!!! I'd pay more than the $15.00 USD for the items above. Warm Regards, Digital Darrell www.DigitalDarrell.com
41
« on: September 17, 2006, 22:26 »
I just bought a brand-new RiData 8 GB CF card for $157.00 including shipping at NewEgg.com. Why Microdrives with those prices available? Digital Darrell www.DigitalDarrell.com
|
Sponsors
Microstock Poll Results
Sponsors
|
Show Posts
