News

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), joined by the Graphic Artists Guild, the Picture Archive Council of America, the North American Nature Photography Association, Professional Photographers of America, photographers Leif Skoogfors, Al Satterwhite, Morton Beebe, Ed Kashi and illustrators John Schmelzer and Simms Taback, has filed a class action copyright infringement suit against Google, Inc. in the U.S. District for the Southern District of New York. The suit, which was filed by Mishcon de Reya New York LLP, relates to Google’s illegal scanning of millions of books and other publications containing copyrighted images and displaying them to the public without regard to the rights of the visual creators. ASMP and the other trade associations, representing thousands of members, decided to file the class action after the Court denied their request to join the currently pending $125 million class action that had previously been filed primarily on behalf of text authors in connection with the Google Library Project. The new class action goes beyond Google’s Library Project, and includes Google’s other systematic and pervasive infringements of the rights of photographers, illustrators and other visual artists.

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Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) announced Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS5 Extended software. Photoshop CS5 builds upon a rich history of innovation and leadership with groundbreaking features and performance gains that boost creativity and workflow efficiency. Packing in more technological advancements from Adobe Labs than any other release and incorporating enhancements to everyday tasks requested by the Photoshop community, the software has greater intelligence and awareness of the content within images, allowing for complex and magical manipulation in just a few clicks. Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended delivers everything in Photoshop CS5, as well as advanced tools for 3-D which address the unique needs of the video, Web, medical, manufacturing and engineering industries.

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Datacolor (www.datacolor.com) announced the launch of an online photo contest called ‘Real New York,’ to be kicked off in conjunction with the 2010 New York Photo Festival (NYPH).

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Sony has introduced two innovative α (alpha) compact interchangeable lens digital cameras (models NEX-5 and NEX-3) that provide the quality of a digital SLR in a compact body that is easy to slip into a small purse or jacket pocket for ultimate portability.

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PocketWizard today launched a major firmware upgrade for USB-enabled MultiMAX Transceivers. Firmware Version 7.5 for both FCC and CE MultiMAX radios is packed with new features and capabilities for serious pro shooters including Long Range Mode for remote camera triggering, Custom ID Move, Signal Strength Indicator and Radio Relay Mode.

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Nikon Inc. announced the new AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens. This new lens affords a constant maximum aperture of f/4 and rugged construction for maximum versatility. Continued refinements and new technologies such as Vibration Reduction (VR) II, Nano Crystal Coat, and optimized autofocus (AF) modes enhance functionality and improve performance for FX and DX-format photographers.

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Lexar Media announced the availability of the Lexar Professional ExpressCard CompactFlash (CF) Reader and the Lexar Professional 600x and 300x 32GB CF cards in traditional and online retail channels. For additional information about the Lexar Professional 600x and 300x CF cards or the ExpressCard CF Reader, visit www.lexar.com.

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