FAQs

What is Scoopt?

Scoopt is a media agency that has been created specifically to help members of the public sell photographs and videos of newsworthy events to the media. We bridge the gap between amateur photographer – and by 'amateur', we mean anybody with a digital camera or a cameraphone who just happens to be in the right place at the right time – and picture desks. Scoopt is now owned and operated by Getty Images, which means that Scoopt members have direct access to worldwide media markets.

How does Scoopt work?

You submit your photos to Scoopt and we license them on your behalf! When you send Scoopt a photo, you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide licence to market that photo for a period of twelve (12) months. During this twelve-month period, you agree not to publish the photo anywhere else. When the twelve months are up, the licence becomes non-exclusive. We will still try to sell your photo but now you can also publish it yourself on a photoblog or a picture sharing site -- or anywhere else at all. We appreciate that you should have the right to share your work; we only ask that you understand that we MUST have an exclusive licence for really hot photos in order to achieve the best possible deal for you.
We sell your photos in two ways:
1. When a photo is really hot – that is, when you have a genuine scoop – your photo will go straight into the Getty Images gallery viewed by thousands of picture buyers every day, and the Getty sales teams around the world will make sure the right customers see your photo. Your photo will also be placed in the Scoopt gallery
2. A photo that is not quite so hot will go into the Scoopt gallery where picture buyers will be able to view it online. It may fit a news story of the day or simply make a nice 'filler' picture in a magazine.
As soon as your photo is placed in one of our galleries it can start to make sales for you. Some photos sell again and again to different publications and each time it sells you get paid.
[Strictly speaking, we don't 'sell' photos at all. Instead, we re-license them for publication in a number of different ways. This is an important distinction because it means the photo remains your property at all times. In legalese, you retain the copyright.]

Who can join Scoopt?

We welcome everybody, but you must be aged 18 or older. You can join Scoopt no matter where you live, as we are interested in selling photos and videos all around the world. In fact, we currently have members from over 160 different countries.

What does membership cost?

Absolutely nothing.

How do I send photos to Scoopt?

We can only accept photos from Scoopt members. Click here to join now. Images submitted to Scoopt from people who are not registered Scoopt members will be automatically rejected.
Photo on your computer
Once you have joined Scoopt you will be able to log in to the member area and use the upload facility to attach, caption and submit your photos direct to the Scoopt Picture Desk. This is by far the quickest and best way to send your photos to Scoopt and maximise your chances of getting a sale.

Photo on your phone

* If your photo is not time-critical and you have access to a computer, please transfer your photo to the computer and then upload it to Scoopt using the upload facility on our website.

If you have a breaking news photo that you need to get to us immediately, you can submit your photo to Scoopt using email or MMS.
* EMAIL:You can email your photo directly to us from your phone using your telephone network provider's mobile email service (if available). Needless to say, we advise you to test your mobile email service before you try to send photos to Scoopt. The email address to use is photos@scoopt.com.
* MMS: you can send us a photo using MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service, or picture messaging) to 07717 661767 (+44 7717 661767 from outside the UK). This is similar to sending a text message with the advantage that you can attach a photo to the message.
Please Note: Only use mobile email or MMS in an emergency. It is far preferable to use the upload facility whenever you can.

How much is my photo worth?

As much as an editor is prepared to pay to publish it on any particular day. Rest assured that Scoopt works hard (very hard) to get the best possible prices for its members. Each and every time we make a sale, you get paid a 40% royalty.

When will I get paid?

You will be paid by the 25th of the month that begins three (3) months after the month in which licenses are invoiced or otherwise charged by Scoopt, or reported to Scoopt by a licensee of Scoopt.

How will I get paid?

We have three payment options at Scoopt:
- By cheque/check in UK£, US$ or Euro
- Through PayPal if you have a PayPal account
- By direct transfer to your nominated bank account (only available in certain countries)
When you make your first sale we contact you to discuss these payment options and determine which one is best for you.

Can you explain what copyright and licensing mean?

Copyright = ownership of a photo
Licence = the right to publish a photo according to agreed terms
When you take a photograph, you own it. It is your photo. In legal jargon, you hold the copyright. Nobody can take that away from you.
However, you can license somebody to publish your photo. For instance, you might license a particular newspaper to print your photo once (and only once) in exchange for an agreed fee. That's the business we're in. When you send a photo to Scoopt, you grant us a twelve-month exclusive licence to re-license your photo to one or more publishers. We negotiate the best possible prices -- and you get paid.
It's common to think of licensing in terms of selling, as in 'Scoopt sells photos to newspapers and magazines'. But in fact the photo remains your property.

What's the difference between an 'exclusive licence' and a 'non-exclusive licence'?

This is an important distinction. When you send a photo to Scoopt, you give us a licence to market that photo on your behalf. You also agree that for the first twelve months only, nobody else -- including you -- will publish that photo in any shape or form. That's what we mean by an exclusive licence.
After twelve months, the licence automatically becomes non-exclusive and perpetual. We will still sell your photo and continue to split the money from each sale with you, but you can now publish the photo yourself and/or agree to somebody else publishing it.
Why do you need an exclusive licence for twelve months?
To understand this, imagine that all we had was a non-exclusive licence. Let's say you take a 'hot' photo and send it to Scoopt. We do our thing and license the Daily Planet to publish the photo on the front cover of tomorrow's edition.
Naturally enough, the Daily Planet wants to keep this scoop all to itself. Indeed, that's precisely what it's paying for. But unless we have an exclusive licence, we simply can't guarantee this. If you or somebody acting on your behalf were to go to the Daily Bugle and sell the same photo (or a similar photo, if you took several of the same event), or even if you were to upload it to a photo-sharing site, the Daily Planet would lose its scoop and demand its money back.
We need an exclusive licence in order to guarantee that a scoop stays a scoop. This is where the money is to be made. Your money!

What can I do with my photo once I've sent it to Scoopt?

If your photo is accepted and placed in the Scoopt and or Getty Images galleries, you cannot do anything with that photo for 12 months. You agree not to sell it to anybody else or to appoint another company to sell it for you. You agree not to publish it on your own website, if you have one, or to upload it to a blog or photo-sharing website. You agree not to print it on a mouse mat or a t-shirt or to send it to a pal. In short, you agree not to publish the photo in any way, shape or form, either directly or indirectly, for twelve months. After twelve months, however, you can do whatever you like with the photo. We will still try to sell it on your behalf on a non-exclusive basis. So long as you remain a member of Scoopt, you will get paid every time we make a sale.
If your photo is rejected you will be sent an email confirming this. The photo will be deleted from the Scoopt system and you will be free to do whatever you want with it.

What if I take a series of photos of the same subject?

It's quite possible that you will take a number of photos of the same event. In this case we want you to use your judgement and select the best FIVE photos from the set and upload only those to Scoopt. Tell us in the caption that you have more and we will contact you if we need to see them.

Will I get my photos back?

We do not return photos to members so we strongly recommend that you keep a personal copy of any photo you submit.

Can I change my mind after sending a photo to Scoopt?

As soon as you submit a photo to Scoopt you automatically grant us an exclusive worldwide licence for twelve months. This is a legal agreement that cannot be revoked even if you leave Scoopt. After this twelve-month period, the licence becomes non-exclusive and you can. leave Scoopt by giving us one month’s notice. We need this notice period in order to process any outstanding sales and to ensure that we remove your works from all sales channels.
If your photo is rejected by Scoopt this 12 month exclusive clause does not apply as your photo will be deleted from our system.

What information do you need when I send in a photo?

The information you provide with your photo is critical. What you tell us helps us to determine whether a photo is accepted or rejected, and whether it is hot enough to get into the Getty Images gallery.
The information you provide has to be accurate. Supplying the correct date, time, place, names and details takes you only a minute but ensures that your photo passes smoothly through our verification checks and gets into the sales galleries quickly.
The caption fields in the upload section of the website have been designed to guide you through this process and ensure that you provide all the information we need.
If you send your photo from your phone you must provide the basic details in the body of the message -- i.e. who/what/when/where/why. We will then contact you by email or by telephone if we need to find out more.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Newspapers have deadlines and won't hang around waiting for a photo, no matter how good it is. This is why the quality of the information your provide is so critical. If we ask you for further information, it is vital that you respond immediately. Otherwise, we may lose the chance to sell your photo for its maximum value, or indeed at all.
It is very important for any publication that buys your photo, for Scoopt, and for you, to be absolutely clear about the full circumstances surrounding a photo. The bottom line is that a photo can breach somebody's privacy or be illegal in any number of ways. For your own protection, it is absolutely essential that you are completely honest if we ask you for further information.

I'm having trouble submitting photos. What could be wrong?

Uploading through the Website
Is your photo larger than 5MB? If so you need to resize it
Are you trying to send us a video? You cannot upload a video through the website. Please email us at contact@scoopt.com telling us what the video is and how large the file size is.
Have you forgotten to apply a caption to your photo? Read through the Member FAQ in the Member section of the website for more guidance.
Using MMS and email
When using MMS, be sure to send from the mobile phone number that you have registered with Scoopt. When emailing, use the email address that you have registered with Scoopt and please provide a mobile phone number as well. Otherwise we have no way of knowing who you are and your photo will probably be rejected. .

Can I send prints, slides, negatives, CDs or DVDs?

Please send an email to contact@scoopt.com describing what you have and what format it is in.
How many photos can I send you?
Once you are a member, you can send us as many photos as you like.

How will I know that you've received them?

You can track the status of all your uploaded photos in the member area of the website,

What kind of photos are you looking for?

We only handle editorial news photos – photos that you see every day in your newspapers. We do not handle stock images. Join Scoopt now for ideas and inspiration.

What happens if I photograph a crime?

Different crimes need to be treated in different ways. We will strive to retain your anonymity wherever possible but in some cases we would be legally bound to advise the police of your contact details. However, even in such cases it may still be possible to publish a picture with incriminating details (faces, number plates, street names etc.) removed or pixelated out of the picture. Please note that we will have no hesitation in contacting the police if we believe that you have been involved in a crime yourself, such as a 'happy slapping' incident. You may wish to consider the possibility that you may be contacted by the police before sending us your image, but also consider your duties as a good citizen. If you wish to discuss a photo before sending it to us, email us at contact@scoopt.com

Why do you need my contact details?

We need to be sure that you are who you say you are. In some cases, we may need to contact you by email or by phone, particularly if we have worries about the authenticity or legality of your photo.
Plus, of course, we have to be able to contact you in order to pay you!

Will you sell or rent or otherwise abuse my personal details if I join?

No, never. Click here for our privacy policy.

Will you change my photo?

We may resize, crop, tweak, sharpen, recolour and otherwise enhance a photo for publication, and indeed any publisher may do the same. However, we always keep an original unaltered copy of every photo you send us.

How will I know when my photo is published?

We will notify you by email as and when a sale is made, confirming the price and the publication. Please make sure you have added Scoopt to your Safe Senders list so that over-vigorous spam filters do not place Scoopt emails in your Junk folders by mistake.

Do I have any say over where you sell my photo?

When you send a photo to Scoopt, you give us full authority to license the photo for publication in whatever way we can. We need this freedom in order to operate quickly and efficiently. Of course, this is also in your interest. We strive to get the best possible prices, and you benefit directly.

Will I get a credit when my photo is published?

Please understand that it is impossible for us to guarantee a credit but we will try our hardest (after all, we want a credit too). When you upload your photo through the Scoopt website your name will appear automatically in the credit field on the caption form. If you do not want a credit, you can remove your name from the credit field when you are completing the caption fields.
If you are submitting a photo from your phone using email or MMS you will need to tell us if you do not want a credit.

Do you just want cameraphone pictures?

Absolutely not. About 90% of the pictures coming into Scoopt are taken on digital cameras.

Do you want video clips too?

We certainly do. But we can't accept video footage via MMS, email or direct upload (yet), so please email contact@scoopt.com and we'll take it from there.

How can I change my personal details?

Can I change my registered email address?

You certainly can. Just sign in to the members' section and click Edit Your Profile. Once you make this change the new email address will replace your old one as your registered login email

Why do you need my mobile phone number?

Two reasons. First, if you want to send us photos using MMS or mobile email directly from your mobile phone, we must have your mobile number on record. This means we can identify you as the sender when a photo comes in. We can do this easily with MMS by cross-referencing your mobile phone's number with your membership details. (However, if you send an email from your mobile phone, we can't tell which phone it was sent from. This is why we ask you to include a mobile phone number with your message)
Secondly, we may have to contact you quickly if we need further details about a photo or if we need to discuss the terms of a potential sale with you. This is almost always easier if we have your mobile number rather than trying to track you down at home or at work.
Please be assured that we will NEVER send spam SMS, MMS or email to your mobile phone, or allow anybody else to do so. We keep your number confidential and will not reveal it to anybody.
Of course, it's possible that you don't have a mobile phone but you still want to send us a photo. In this case, please enter your landline number in the mobile phone field.

How do I leave Scoopt?

We'll be sorry to say goodbye, but if you really want to go please send an email to contact@scoopt.com telling us that you wish to leave, and provide the email address and mobile phone number that you registered with Scoopt. We will then remove your details from our membership database no later than one month after we receive this email and we will email you to confirm that this is done. We need this one month period in order to process any sales that are in the system and ensure that any payments you are due are made.
Our lawyers also insist that we remind you of the licensing agreement between you and Scoopt.
If you submitted a photo or video within the last twelve months, we currently have an exclusive licence to sell it. You agreed not to publish it anywhere else for this period, and this agreement remains in force even if you leave Scoopt. Please bear in mind that if you leave we will no longer have your contact details so will not be able to pay you for any sales we make.
If you submitted a photo or video more than twelve months ago, we currently retain a non-exclusive licence to sell it. This licence will remain in force for one month from the date you leave Scoopt.

Where can I find your full terms and conditions?

Right here. You must read these in full and agree to them before you join Scoopt.

I am a picture editor. How do I license Scoopt content?

Scoopt sales are handled by Getty Images. Please go to their website at http://editorial.gettyimages.com/Editorial/Editorial.aspx where you will find their contact details. Alternatively, email contact@scoopt.com

Help! You haven't answered my question.

Sorry! Email us at contact@scoopt.com .

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