Crediting the creator with metadata
Image tracking to protect assets

Our evolution into a digital world has led to a visually rich experience, making photography a crucial part of our daily lives while also providing more opportunities for both brands and creators. But the proliferation of generic, anonymously authored photographs—such as those produced by content mills—risks devaluing the entire craft, including those images created by specialized professionals.

Every image, including “work made for hire,” was made possible by a highly trained individual, and the quality and authenticity of this image is a direct result of this expertise. Because we all benefit from this individual’s expertise, we believe in respecting the principles of intellectual property, and that ​ all images—photos, videos, and films—will be signed and traceable. That’s why OCUS pledges to always include the author’s credit within the image’s metadata, and we encourage our partners to do the same. Currently, around 80% of images circulating online lack this information, but including metadata not only acknowledges the image’s authorship but also enhances the authenticity we all value so highly.

THE OCUS WAY

Crediting the creator with metadata

The author's signature is systematically integrated into the image metadata and transmitted at the time of delivery, giving the buyer the opportunity to credit the author.

Image tracking to protect assets

OCUS is currently developing an image identity card—an unalterable watermark of invisible pixels—capable of authenticating the origin of each image. Readable by a central decoder, it will provide information on the author, and how the image is used across all media—useful to both the creators and our partners to track their images.

Fair pay for image creators
Investment for the creative community
Collective governance
Inter-platform alliances

Image creation requires specific expert knowledge and expensive equipment. And image creators are major contributors to the value creation of the companies with whom they collaborate. That’s why OCUS advocates for compensation that accurately reflects this value and rewards contributors appropriately. OCUS and image creators share a common goal: to increase the value of images. The creators themselves must determine the value of their work in the form of collective consultation and based on market realities. OCUS can facilitate this consultation through its understanding of the market and its willingness to promote fair compensation practices. After all, working to boost the overall value of images benefits the company, its creators, and its partners.

OCUS believes that all companies operating in digital and freelance platforms could do more to strengthen collaboration and redefine governance and value-sharing with its contributors. Now is the time to work together to create a sustainable model.

THE OCUS WAY

Fair pay for image creators

In 2019, OCUS partnered with the University of Paris to study fair remuneration for image creators per working hour. This study represents a starting point and a roadmap for achieving the satisfaction of our community. These figures demonstrate how OCUS is working with image collectives and specialists on formulating a progressive remuneration system.

Overall goals include:- introducing a minimum base pay combined with a minimum hourly rate
- compensation that considers the geographic location, experience level of the image creator, and actual project-preparation time
- more transparency of the OCUS business model.

Investment for the creative community

In many countries, labor and tax codes don’t allow freelancers to participate in company shareholding programs as it risks reclassifying their work as salaried. But typically, freelancers also don’t have the financial means to buy shares independently.
OCUS believes that companies should reward self-employed workers for their contribution and commitment to the parent company in the form of long term incentives based on value created. OCUS is mobilizing legal and tax experts as well as public authorities in an effort to establish a shareholding model for its platform workers.

Collective governance

When large platforms comprise several thousand contributors, communities can become disorganized; with incohesive interests and agendas, their positions risk being weakened. Platform freelancers should have the opportunity to align as a centralized force that can participate in decision-making.

Since September 2019, OCUS has been experimenting with a council of image creators, which we refer to as ​ les Éclaireurs (the Pathfinders). Half of the members of each session are drawn by lot, and half are chosen by OCUS from among its most critical and constructive members. The role of the Éclaireurs is to advise on topics proposed by its members and by OCUS.

Inter-platform alliances

The growing number of freelancer platforms is an opportunity to create a multilateral structure capable of defining rules, mutualizing interests and risks, influencing social and labor laws, and establishing collective guarantees.
OCUS will initiate dialogue with organizations and companies and encourage them to commit to a framework that can benefit workers, platforms, and clients.

Training and education
Creative support
Data portability and transparency

One primary purpose of platforms like OCUS is to generate viable and satisfying work for its members. And the collective spirit of such platforms provides benefits that don't exist in traditional freelancer-client relationships, such as flexibility, more assignments, and opportunities to respond to the needs—and goals—of the community. OCUS supports the goals of image creators whose ambitions are not just economic but also technical and artistic. It believes these ambitions should not be mutually exclusive.
By backing its community's technical and creative endeavors through training, extracurricular support, and even data science, OCUS can empower its members by helping them achieve artistic fulfillment and visibility while also remaining economically competitive. Doing so, also benefits the company and its partners by building a loyal and experienced workforce whose abilities will exceed the industry’s evolving demands.

THE OCUS WAY 

Training and education

Professional photography schools are typically private, and in some countries such training does not even exist; despite a young, connected, and entrepreneurial population. Additionally, due to the nature of the photography industry—in particular, the lack of regulation, supervision, and oversight—professionally trained photographers are often in competition with self-taught photographers. Though many are exceptionally self-taught—Ansel Adams was a famous example—the work demands guarantees of professionalism when they enter the market as an independent.

OCUS is committed to advancing the skills of aspiring and professional image creators by:

- creating an OCUS school for image professionals that offers regular Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in several languages and face-to-face workshops led by experts

- existing OCUS members will be able to perfect their skills or acquire new ones. OCUS’s goal is to become a certified training organization that will allow all professionals to bolster their skill sets. -continuing our partnership with Trace TV and its online platform, Trace Academy, which provide education and vocational training in Africa and South America. OCUS is currently developing a comprehensive course on visual creation

- partnering with other schools, programs, and organizations that can offer innovative training courses that are constantly updated to keep pace with industry developments.

Creative support

Many artists lack the means and networks for funding personal artistic projects. However, such projects are essential for developing contemporary image habits that manifest into more culturally relevant work. OCUS will support artists in its community by:

- sponsorships to finance our community’s projects, exhibitions, and publications requiring the purchase or rental of equipment, print, travel, and communications

- welcoming image creators to OCUS workspaces dedicated to creation and production, where knowledge and equipment can be mutually exchanged to benefit everyone

- producing artistic events, like CREATOR’S CUT competitions, exhibitions, and publications that promote and showcase OCUS image creators around the world.

Data portability and transparency

OCUS generates large amounts of data from its activities with partners and through its socioeconomic profiles (i.e., its image creators and clients). This data is typically used for business intelligence for customers and production teams, and to develop efficient production algorithms.
However, OCUS believes that this data can become a source of empowerment for its community and affirms the following transparency and portability principles: data generated by OCUS could benefit its community by allowing its members to understand and monitor activity, performance, time dedicated to OCUS, created value, and accounting

OCUS will provide a certified export of this data to its users (number and type of missions, customer satisfaction, revenues, etc.), which they can promote to other partners and customers.

With community approval, OCUS would consider making data available to trade unions as well as public and research authorities in an open-source framework, with the aim of raising awareness on issues of self-employment and social justice.
Without jeopardizing trade secrets, business positioning, and proprietary processes, algorithms could be made as transparent as possible. For example, the criteria for accessing projects could be explained to help ensure nondiscrimination.