No, this is nothing to do with Steve.

fotoLibra was given a tender document from a large organisation. We read it carefully, and with respect, because the business has a fine reputation.

They wanted
a) a digital asset management system
b) a secure web hosting service
c) digitisation of 6 million images in varying formats from glass plates to transparencies
d) complete metadata applied to each image

In return for all this they offered “a licence for a limited period of time to exploit the photographs commercially.”

No cash. No other form of payment at all.

And by the way the 2,000 existing users of the archive must continue to be able to access and download the content for free, including all the newly digitised and keyworded assets. They’re not included in the commercial licence.

I believe they may have to rethink this proposal. The cost of digitising and applying metadata to 6 million images would be north of £20 million.

This is a huge job, and a massive investment. Commercial exploitation would be unlikely to recoup a twentieth of this amount. The length of the licence would have to be in centuries in order to claw back the original investment.

Not for us — but thanks for thinking of us!