{{Short description|Chinese photo and media agency}} {{Expand Chinese|%E8%A7%86%E8%A7%89%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox company | name = Visual China Group Co., Ltd. | logo = Visual China Group logo.png | type = Public | traded_as = {{szse|000681}} | industry = Stock photos | location = Beijing, China | founded = {{start date and age|2000}} | subsid = 500px | website = {{URL|https://www.vcg.com/}} }} '''Visual China Group Co., Ltd.''' ('''VCG''') is a Chinese photo and media agency. Established in 2000, it is a supplier of stock multimedia content to the commercial media industry. VCG is currently the largest stock image and media footage provider in China and third largest in the world.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.dpreview.com/news/6061266792/500px-acquired-by-chinese-licensing-giant-visual-china-group|title=500px acquired by Chinese licensing giant Visual China Group|work=DPReview|access-date=2018-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160122005714/en/Getty-Images-Visual-China-Group-Partner-Exclusive|title=Getty Images and Visual China Group Partner in Exclusive Global Distribution Partnership for Extensive Visual Content Collection of Corbis Images|access-date=2018-07-15|language=en}}</ref>
Since 2006, VCG has been the exclusive distributor of Getty Images' library in China. In January 2016, Unity Glory International, an affiliate of VCG, announced that it would acquire the image licensing business of Corbis. Unity Glory licenses the Corbis libraries to Getty for distribution outside of China via VCG.<ref name="variety-corbissold">{{cite web|title=Bill Gates’ Corbis Images Sold to Visual China Group|url=https://variety.com/2016/digital/asia/bill-gates-corbis-images-sold-to-visual-china-1201687743/|website=Variety|accessdate=26 January 2016|first=Patrick|last=Frater|date=January 25, 2016}}</ref><ref name="time-imagewar">{{cite news|title=The Decade-Long Image Licensing War Is Suddenly Over|url=https://time.com/4190784/image-licensing-war-is-over/|access-date=26 January 2016|website=Time|first=Olivier|last=Laurent|date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=29 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929071422/https://time.com/4190784/image-licensing-war-is-over/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In early 2018, it acquired photo sharing website 500px.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/26/one-time-flickr-rival-500px-acquired-by-the-getty-of-china-vcg/|title=One-time Flickr rival 500px acquired by the Getty of China, VCG|work=TechCrunch|access-date=15 July 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>
==False copyright claims== In April 2019, after the Event Horizon Telescope project captured an image of the Messier 87 supermassive black hole — the first such image in history — it was discovered that VCG had falsely claimed ownership of the image and listed it for sale on its website, failing to attribute its source (which had licensed it for free distribution and use under a Creative Commons license). The attempt to monetize a historic image meant for public distribution was criticized as being opportunist.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
On the heels of the controversy, Sina Weibo users (including the Communist Youth League of China) discovered other images that VCG was also claiming ownership of and selling, including corporate logos, and imagery of the Chinese flag and national emblem. On 11 April 2019, VCG was ordered by authorities in Tianjin to address these issues. The next day, VCG stated that it had "taken down all non-compliant photos and closed down the site voluntarily for a revamp in accordance with related laws." The controversy caused its share prices to fall by 10%<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-12/charging-to-use-chinese-flag-image-was-a-bad-idea-for-this-firm|title=Charging to Use Image of Chinese Flag Was a Bad Idea for This Firm|date=11 April 2019|website=Bloomberg|access-date=11 April 2019}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/11/vcg-black-hole-image/|title=China’s largest stock photo provider draws fire over the use of black hole image|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|date=12 April 2019|access-date=12 April 2019}}</ref> for three consecutive working days.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://tech.qq.com/a/20190416/001496.htm|title=视觉中国走出第三个"一字板"跌停 报20.41元|language=zh-CN|website=Tencent Tech news|date=16 April 2019}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Photo archives in China Category:Stock photography Category:Getty Images Category:Mass media companies of China Category:Companies based in Beijing Category:Mass media companies established in 2000 Category:Chinese companies established in 2000 Category:Mass media in Beijing
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