Fotosearch
Encyclopedia
Stock photography
Stock photography is the supply of photographs licensed for specific uses. It is used to fulfill the needs of creative assignments instead of hiring a photographer. Today, stock images can be presented in searchable online databases. They can be purchased and delivered online...
company, founded in 1998. The company sells royalty-free
Royalty free
Royalty-Free, or RF, refers to the right to use copyrighted material or intellectual property without the need to pay royalties for each use or per volume sold, or some time period of use or sales.-Computer standards:...
and rights-managed
Rights Managed
Rights Managed, or RM, in photography and the stock photo industry, refers to a copyright license which, if purchased by a user, allows the one time use of the photo as specified by the license. If the user wants to use the photo for other uses an additional license needs to be purchased. RM...
photography, illustrations, video footage, clipart, and audio clips. Today, with digital images from over 140 publishers, it is one of the world’s largest distributors of stock photography.
The core feature of the site is its search feature which allows users to access it's database of over 9 million images.
The site is offered in more than a dozen languages with fully functional search, and the ability to pay in local currency for each site. 24-hour customer support by phone was added in 2005 and is also available for most languages.
Images distributed by Fotosearch have been featured in People magazine, the New York Times, and recently on the February 6th 2006, cover of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
. Stock footage from Fotosearch has been used in several movies and was used in the April 19, 2005 PBS episode of NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW
NOVA scienceNOW is a newsmagazine version of the long running and venerable PBS science program Nova. Premiering on January 25, 2005, the series was originally hosted by Robert Krulwich, who described it as an experiment in coverage of "breaking science, science that's right out of the lab, science...
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The company is located in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
History
Fotosearch grew out of Publishing Perfection, founded in 1987, when electronic publishing was in its infancy. From the beginning the company targeted graphics and multimedia professionals through its monthly catalogue. The company specialized in providing the assistance required for buying graphics tools such as laser printers and image scanners. In addition to hardware and software the company began to offer high quality stock images in the early 1990s.In 1996 Publishing Perfection launched a website offering an online catalogue, expanded product information and special discounts. In 1998 the company introduced the Fotosearch website where customers could search multiple stock photography publishers at a single site.