Finding Images is the Key to Effective Photo Business

LONDON, March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Finding images is the key to effective photo business. This is the theme of the sixth IPTC Photo Metadata Conference which will be held on 17 May 2012 in London. It will focus on the latest technologies to improve search results and on methods and systems for identifying the rightsholders of an image if the copyright notice is not available. The Conference will be held at the annual Congress of the European picture agency association CEPIC. Details of the Conference can be found at http://www.phmdc.org including how to register for this industry event. Tweets about it use #phmdc12 as hashtag.

Finding an image online is easy, but finding the 'right' image, from a site where it can be legally licensed is another matter. Attendees will find out how to tap into the latest search and retrieval technologies to make search results relevant and easy to find.  Use of metadata, keywording, and taxononomies will be discussed, as well as, crowdsourced cataloguing and visual search technologies. Also semantic markup for images on web pages to enhance the results of search engines will be shown at this Conference which is organised by IPTC, the major standardisation body for photo metadata.

The second highlight of the conference will investigate methods of finding image  rightsholders. The orphan works issue looms large for image creators and distributors, with proposals for changes in copyright law under consideration across Europe, and vast numbers of unaccredited images easily found on the internet. How can creators and their agencies protect their copyright while maintaining easy access for their customers? There will be sessions on tracking rightsholders, developments in automated licencing, and recent legal and political developments which may affect the way business is done.

The one day conference offers the chance to hear to expert speakers from around the globe, and to take part in break out discussion sessions on topics vital to the future of the image creation and licensing industry. It is a must for photographers, image libraries, and all those interested in the future of the image industry.

About the IPTC:

The IPTC, based in London, is a consortium of the world's major news agencies, news publishers and news industry vendors. It develops and maintains technical standards for improved news exchange that are used by virtually every major news organisation in the world. Its standards include the Photo Metadata standards IPTC Core and Extension, the family of G2-Standards (NewsML-G2, EventsML-G2 and SportsML-G2), NITF, rNews, and the IPTC NewsCodes. Visit the web site is http://www.iptc.org or follow @IPTC on Twitter.

About CEPIC:

CEPIC stands for the Coordination of European Picture Agencies Stock, Press and Heritage. It aims to be the centre of the picture industry. CEPIC federates nearly a thousand picture agencies and photo libraries in 20 countries across Europe, both within and outside the European Union. It has affiliates in North America and Asia. CEPIC's membership includes large and smaller stock photo libraries, major photo news agencies, art galleries and museums, and video companies. CEPIC is registered in France and has its office in Berlin, Germany. Visit the website http://www.cepic.org for more information.

International Press Telecommunications Council

Media contact:
Michael Steidl, IPTC Managing director
Phone: +44(20)3178-4922
Email: office@iptc.org