DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS

Copyright Clearance Center Launches Ozmo™ 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-for-profit 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.