Earlier this month, Getty officially unveiled its the collection with pictures sourced from the popular photo-sharing site. The partnership was struck last July, allowing Getty to license selected images from Flickr (with the photographers' permission). In return, Flickr agreed to make images available for licensing only through Getty.

The collection has already seen its first sales, according to Getty. However, it remains unclear if Flickr contributors are receiving the same deal as other contributors at Getty.

Speaking to BJP last year when the deal was first announced, Jonathan Klein, Getty's CEO and one of its founders, stated that 'the terms between Getty and (Flickr) photographers would be exactly the same as the terms between any other photographers. In effect Flickr will be an image partner and we will have the same arrangement as with any other image partner - National Geographic, Time, Life, Dorling Kindersley and so on'.

According to Flickr members who have been selected for the collection, they are set to receive 30% of each rights-managed sale and 20% for royalty-free stills. Andy Saunders, vice-president of creative imagery at Getty, confirmed the numbers.

However, the splits appear to be lower than that for other Getty contributors. The majority of Getty-licensed photographers receive up to 40% of their images' revenues. Earlier this year, for example, Getty announced that it would be cutting some of its contributors royalty fees after it realised it had overpaid them for several months. The statement showed that while MediaVast contributors received 50% of their sales before Getty acquired the company, afterwards they were supposed to receive only 40%, which is in line with Getty's other deals (BJP, 04 March).

Contributors to Scoopt, a citizen journalism agency that Getty acquired in 2007, also received a 40% cut on each sale - down 10% on previous contracts offering a 50/50 split (BJP, 21 March 2007). Scoopt, which has closed this month, used to sell images shot using a mobile phone.

Contributors to another Getty acquisition, Redferns, one of the world's most extensive collections of rock and pop imagery, continue to receive a 50/50 split on each sale.

However, Getty continues to insist that 'Flickr members will receive the same split as the contributing photographers who shoot for our in-house collections.'