ImageSpan, creator of licensing and royalty payment automation platform LicenseStream, has partnered with image copyright service provider PicScout. This partnership serves “to help LicenseStream subscribers immediately monetise content found by PicScout and obtain more value from that content as it gets published across the Web”, as the jointly issued press release puts it. Online image theft is seen as “a huge and growing problem”, with lost revenues from unauthorised uses of images online allegedly exceeding $65 million. The cooperation between ImageSpan and PicScout promises to provide LicenseStream subscribers with a means of tracking how, when and where their images are being used or abused.

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery will host an exhibition of 52 photographic portraits of the leading men and women in Barack Obama’s government, shot on the eve of the presidential inauguration. In the heady days of last year’s election campaign, world-renowned photographer Nadav Kander was commissioned to take portraits of the President-elect’s new government as it was being assembled. Now, for the first time, these images will be on show to the public at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. The exhibition takes place between 18 April and 31 August 2009.

Photo Iconic has announced a series of landscape photography holidays in the Tatra Mountains National Park. The High and the Low Tatras, located in Central Europe, offer some of the continent’s most stunning scenery. The week-long photographic holidays take place in the Slovakian part of the mountains. Photo Iconic has teamed up with wildlife photographer Chris Weston and specialist holiday company Mountain Paradise to offer a package comprising an airline ticket from the UK, full-board chalet accommodation for a week, the services of a private guide and photographic tuition from two award-winning photographers. The price is £945 per person, of which £100 go to the Tatra Foundation. Course dates are May 30th - June 5th and June 6th - June 12th.

School of Visual Arts (SVA) presents “Mentors,” an exhibition of work by BFA Photography Department students. The images are inspired by their year-long mentorship with key figures in the New York arts community. The exhibition will be on view April 10 - 25 at the Visual Arts Gallery, 601 West 26 Street, 15th Floor, New York City.

Image: Sean Gutowski, Burning Ship, 2009, C-print

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) offers a legal helpline for photojournalists covering protests against the G20 summit held in London. The NUJ is “concerned that the police could hamper journalists”, therefore those “who need help while attending the summit or protests in a professional capacity” may contact the NUJ Legal Department on 020 7843 3721 tomorrow between 9:30am and 5:30pm. Do note that the helpline is offered to NUJ members only.

Phase One has inked a deal with Mamiya Digital Imaging, to become a “major shareholder” in the Japan-based company. Looks like it’s medium-format week - just two days after Pentax’s announcement that the Pentax 645 Digital would finally see the light next year, Phase One and Mamiya have issued a press release saying the former is “making a significant financial investment” in Mamiya Digital Imaging, Ltd; allegedly to “accelerate the development of advanced, world-class medium format camera systems”. This entails Phase One taking on “strategic leadership” in R&D, marketing and ditribution management. Read on to find out about all the details.

This year’s Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day will be held on April 26, and the organisers invite everyone who uses a pinhole camera to participate. Anyone who takes a pinhole photograph on the last Sunday of April (26th) and scans it can upload it to www.pinholeday.org where it becomes part of a public gallery. Pinhole cameras are the oldest photographic tools, which are used to create photos without a lens. So if you as a photographer are looking for routes to your roots, Pinhole Day may be just your ticket.

Online storage provider Wuala has announced that it has merged with LaCie, manufacturer of external storage devices. Since its launch in August 2008, Wuala has grown rapidly thanks to its ease of use and the unique way of protecting its user’s privacy. “LaCie has a strong vision for where the future of storage is headed. This merge has allowed us to acquire a very innovative online storage solution that will transform our company from a leading hardware manufacturer to a comprehensive digital storage provider,” said Philippe Spruch, founder and CEO of LaCie.

Hoya is to reduce its Japanese digital camera division from 800 to less than 400 employees. Hoya’s sales, production management and development departments will be affected, as the company who merged with Pentax last year tries to halt nine consecutive months of losses. Hoya also intends to cut its international digital camera workforce later this year.

Website: Reuters

Hitachi has announced that it has agreed to acquire storage solution company Fabrik, whose brands include G-Technology and SimpleTech. Fabrik’s business will continue intact and form the core of Hitachi GST’s newly-formed external storage business, with the the G-Technology and SimpleTech product lines continuing. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Closing of the acquisition is expected to occur early in the second quarter of 2009.

US retailer Ritz Cameras has today filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Chief Restructuring Officer Marc Weinsweig commented “The loss of revenues and profit margins from the diminution in the photo-finishing business proved too much of a burden, coupled with the losses experienced by the Boater’s World business in 2008.” Ritz are attempting to obtain $85 million of financing to keep operating.

Website: Ritz Camera files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Nikon UK is set to increase its prices for the second time in 2009. Effective from 1st March, the price increase is being blamed on “the relative weakness of Sterling and the continued strength of the Yen”. Better news for photographers is that Nikon’s Coolpix compacts and some DSLRs won’t see an increase.

Panasonic is to cut 15,000 jobs worldwide after announcing an annual loss of $4.2 billion. “Sales fell in all our business segments in the third quarter. We expect sharper sales declines in this quarter, and profits are likely to shrink in every segment,” commented Panasonic director Makoto Uenoyama. The strong Yen and slowing sales are to blame for the decision to close 27 manufacturing sites in the next year and cut around 15,000 jobs, half in Japan and half overseas. Panasonic has a worldwide workforce of around 300,000 employees.

Website: Reuters

UK photographic retailer Jessops has reported a loss of £19.1 Million for 2008. This follows a loss in 2007 of £9.3m. Like for like sales for the year ended 30 September 2008 were down 6.5% year on year. The compact camera market was up 7.3% in volume but down 5% in value and the DSLR market was up 16.1% in volume and 19.3% in value. David Adams, Executive Chairman, said: “It is not clear when economic conditions will improve but the combination of our strong market position, solid relationships with suppliers and continuing cost reductions should ensure that Jessops is in the best position operationally to deal with the very difficult economic conditions in which we are operating.”

Kodak is cutting upto 4,500 jobs during 2009, after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $133 million. Fourth-quarter sales were $2.433 billion, a 24% decline from the year-ago quarter. Digital sales for the fourth quarter were $1.779 billion, a 23% decline from the year-ago quarter, and traditional revenues were $652 million, a 27% decline from the year-ago quarter.

“The second half of 2008 will go down in history as one of the most challenging periods we have seen in decades,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eastman Kodak Company. “We built significant momentum following the completion of our corporate transformation and our business results were on track through most of 2008, with digital revenue up 10% in the first half of the year, following double-digit growth in the second-half of 2007. However, during the last three months of the year, we experienced dramatic declines in several of our key businesses due to the slowdown in consumer spending and significantly reduced demand for capital equipment.”

Website: Kodak Press Release

Panasonic is closing two factories in Malaysia and the Philippines with the loss of 560 jobs. Blaming a “a rapid change in the global electronics market,” workers at the electronics parts plant and battery factory are affected. In a separate development, the Nikkei paper has reported that Panasonic will report a a net loss of about 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for 2008/9, its first loss for 6 years.

Website: Panasonic to cut 560 jobs, close Asian plants

Canon,the world’s biggest digital camera manufacturer, has just reported an 81% decline in quarterly profits, blaming the strong yen and slowing demand for cameras and office equipment. “A substantial recovery in the economy is unlikely in 2009. Our operating environment will be even harder this year than it was last year,” commented Canon’s Managing Director Masahiro Osawa. Digital camera sales are expected to fall by 7% from a year earlier to 23.9 million units in 2009. Canon now predicts that its operating profit will fall 68% to 160 billion yen in 2009, the lowest in the last 14 years. Canon is aiming to cut costs by 70 billion yen in a bid to cope with the current economic crisis.

Website: Reuters - Canon profit tumbles, predicts further slide

Sigma UK will increase its prices on all products from 1st February, blaming “currency fluctuations”. The devaluation of £ Sterling against the Yen by 40% since December 2007 is the specific reason. Also, Sigma’s press release doesn’t rule out future increases: “We hope that the UK pound makes a recovery against foreign currencies however it is not altogether impossible that further price increases may be forced upon us all.”

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has forecast falling camera sales in 2009. They predict that total sales will decrease by 0.7%, with point-and-shoot models suffering a 1.3% decline, while DSLR sales will actually increase by 6.8%. CIPA are blaming “the rapid economic slowdown since the autumn of 2008” for 2009’s tough outlook, with better news expected for 2010/11.

Samsung is aiming for a 10% share of the global digital camera market in 2009. Last year Samsung’s share was 9%, compared to leaders Canon (20%) and Sony (17%). According to the article by The Nation, Samsung will apparently concentrate on mid to high level cameras in developing countries, as it expects “demand would still be flat in some countries, including the United States, China, Australia and Ukraine”.

Website: The Nation