The ruling on photographer Chris Usher's case against Corbis for losing a case of 12,640 slides, including images from the 2000 presidential campaign, was upheld in the New York Court of Appeals in April.

After winning $157,000 in damages in 2008 despite Corbis' attempt to show that he was negligent in his slide storage, Usher went to the appeals court claiming the payment was not enough to compensate for the slides he entrusted to the photo company...

At its 13th annual Doublexposure event, Seattle’s Youth in Focus (YIF) raised $100,000 to support the photographic education of inner-city youths aged 13 to 19. The proceeds came from ticket sales as well as the auction of 43 photographs.

Held at the South Lake Union Armory, the auction included prints from YIF students and staff. Those fetching the highest bids included pieces by photographic documentarian Cristina Mittermeier and YIF board member Barbara Kinney...

In a drastic move to cut costs, the World Picture Network (WpN), an eight-year-old stock photo agency, dropped its entire freelancing staff on April 17.

Faced with a dramatic decline in image purchases by magazines and newspapers nationwide, WpN CEO Brian Miller said that he does not believe it, makes financial sense to continue supporting losses with no improvement in sight...

In March, New York-based Omnicom Group began enforcing the sequential liability clause in advertising contracts, asserting that ad agencies will no longer be responsible for paying production fees until the client has paid for the services.

Reportedly, these new company guidelines are the result of the requests for longer payment times from major advertisers, such as General Motors, which has asked for 75 days to pay invoices, and beverage giant InBev, which has requested at least 120 days to settle its accounts...

Despite increasing unemployment rates in the arts industry, the number of photographers in the United States has increased by 32,000 since 2007, according to a report released by the National Endowment for the Arts in March.

According to the release, 193,000 photographers were employed in the United States in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to 167,000 employed the year before; at the same time, the total photography workforce hit an all-time high of 205,000 members. With this growth, however, the number of unemployed photographers also increased, doubling from 6,000 in 2007 to 12,000 in 2008...

As the financial crisis deepened this winter, several stock photo agencies were forced to restructure or close.

Following its $96 million purchase of the Jupiterimages agency in February, stock photo conglomerate Getty Images laid off 110 employees, 5 percent of its total workforce, in March and closed several Jupiterimages branches in the United States.

Getty says it plans to maintain all Jupiterimages offices in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and will retain the Jupiterimages brand worldwide...

Artfairs Inc. recently presented Photo L.A., its 18th Annual International Los Angeles Photographic Art Exposition, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Photo L.A. is the largest exhibition of its kind in the United States, featuring 70 of the world's leading galleries and private dealers.

Nearly 7,000 collectors and artists attended the event, held at the Barker Hangar of the Santa Monica Airport, Jan. 8-11. An opening night reception benefited LACMA's photography department.

Programming highlights included the LACMA Artist Conversation Series and book signings with LACMA curator Charlotte Cotton and photographers David Maisel, Susan Meiselas, Bruce Davidson, Diane Keaton and Marvin Heiferman...

Hossein Farmani, founder of the Lucie Awards, recently formed the Lucie Foundation, a new nonprofit aimed at celebrating master photographers, cultivating emerging talent, and promoting the appreciation of photography.

The Lucie Foundation started its 2009 programming with a focus on education. The foundation will hold year-round programming in addition to the annual Lucie Awards gala. Programs will include mentoring, scholarships, portfolio reviews, lectures, talks and a new festival in Los Angeles debuting this April...