The CCC is moving more into the 21st century! It has created a service that allows content creators -- like you and me -- to license our content and get paid when it is used. It will be interesting to hear my fellow bloggers -- especially those who are photo addicts -- evaluate this service. Will it work for those of us who are living in web 2.0?
As I look at the press release and web site, I see one stopper (at least for me); everyone who want so to use Ozmo needs to have an account. So I can't search Ozmo to see if there is anything worth licensing until I have an account.
As a creator, I am wondering if I place license content through Ozmo, if I then need to place something on that content (e.g., a blog post) that tells people to go to Ozmo to license it? And does Ozmo give me the verbiage for that?
I have questions and the only way for me to get answers, I know, is to try Ozmo (or to see a blog post from someone else who has tried it). For now, I'll be interested to see how this service is marketed and to whom, and if it attracts quality content creators and buyers.
BTW even though I have questions/concerns, I do think this a cool idea!
Copyright Clearance Center Launches Ozmo(TM) to Help Photographers, Bloggers and other Artists License Content for Commercial Use
DANVERS, Mass., November 19, 2008—Copyright Clearance Center, the world's largest provider of
copyright licensing solutions, today announced the beta launch of Ozmo (www.ozmo.com), a web‐based
service that makes it easy for independent content creators to license the use of their work for
commercial purposes and for content users to tap into the wealth of user‐generated content found
online.
Ozmo puts artists and writers in control. They select their license terms and set the price for the use of
their content. Then, CCC puts its three decades of licensing expertise to work. CCC handles the entire
licensing process and all payments go through Amazon’s Flexible Payment Service when a license is
purchased. With Ozmo, buyers know instantly that they have the right to use the content and sellers
know how their content is being used.
There are no set‐up fees with Ozmo and content creators can license as much content as they want.
Payment is collected from the buyer when the rights are purchased. Ozmo even helps sellers track and
manage sales and buying trends. Ozmo supports the Creative Commons CC+ protocol for bridging the
gap between commercial and non‐commercial licensing. Content creators can apply the Creative
Commons link for non‐commercial use, and the Ozmo link for commercial use.
“We applaud the release of Ozmo, not only because it represents Copyright Clearance Center’s
commitment to the CC+ protocol, but also because Ozmo provides an excellent commercial peer to
Creative Commons’ public license”, said Mike Linksvayer, Vice President of Creative Commons.
Ozmo was created by the rights licensing experts at Copyright Clearance Center. A not‐for‐profit
company founded in 1978, CCC is the world’s largest provider of rights licensing services. In just the last
year, CCC distributed more than $135 million in royalties to rightsholders. CCC created Ozmo in
response to a market need for a comprehensive solution to license user‐generated content for
commercial use.
"Advances in digital technology have opened new commercial markets for images. OZMO provides an
easy, fast and legally secure new channel for online sale and license of images," said Eugene Mopsik,
executive director of the American Society of Media Photographers, the premier trade association for
publication photographers with over 7000 members. “Ozmo’s contributors and their customers will
benefit from an e‐commerce system based upon industry standards that simplify the licensing process
and ensure a precise mutual understanding of the rights associated with every image.”
How Ozmo works
To get started, users need only create a free Ozmo profile. Then, the content creator selects his or her
license terms and pricing, and registers the work with Ozmo. Sellers can add an image, banner or bio
that will be displayed with their work. Profile information can even be pulled over directly from
Facebook. Using Ozmo is easy because it works with content where ever it resides online. Content
creators never have to re‐enter their work; Ozmo simply links back to the original host location.
Buyers, such as design firms, publishers, bloggers and other journalists, who want to tap in to the fresh
content available through Ozmo, can do so by searching the Ozmo website or clicking on the Ozmo link
wherever they find it online. CCC handles the billing, the buyer receives the license by email and the
content creator gets paid. It’s that simple.
“We realize that licensing may not be the first thing most people think about when they create or post
original content on the Web,” said Bill Burger, Vice President of Marketing at Copyright Clearance
Center. “With Ozmo, content creators get paid for their work and also get the satisfaction of knowing
how their work is being used. And advertising and marketing firms get easy access to the immense
supply of online creative content with the peace of mind that they are using it with permission.”
About Copyright Clearance Center
Copyright Clearance Center, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, creates innovative licensing
solutions for the seamless sharing of knowledge. CCC's licensing services, combined with its Web‐based
applications and tools, allow tens of millions of people in corporations, universities, law firms and
government agencies to use and share published information with ease. Since its founding as a not‐forprofit company in 1978, CCC has created and expanded the markets and systems that facilitate content reuse and the distribution of royalties to rightsholders around the world. For more information please visit www.copyright.com.
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