History of Getty Images in Timeline

Getty Images is a visual media company providing stock images, editorial photography, video, and music to businesses and consumers. It boasts a vast library of over 477 million assets and caters to three primary markets: creative professionals, the media, and corporate clients. The company operates as a major supplier in the visual content industry, offering a wide range of resources for various creative and commercial needs.

1935: Pictorial Parade established

Pictorial Parade was established in 1935 and later merged to form Archive Photos.

1938: Frederick Lewis Stock Photos established

Frederick Lewis Stock Photos was established in 1938 and later merged to form Archive Photos.

1988: BBC sells Hulton collection to Brian Deutsch

In 1988, The BBC sold the Hulton collection to Brian Deutsch, when it was renamed Hulton Deutsch.

1990: Archive Photos formed from merger of Pictorial Parade and Frederick Lewis Stock Photos

In 1990, Archive Photos was formed from the merger of Pictorial Parade (est. 1935) and Frederick Lewis Stock Photos (est. 1938).

1995: Getty Investments LLC co-founded

In 1995, Mark Getty and Jonathan Klein co-founded Getty Investments LLC in London, marking the beginning of Getty Images.

1996: Getty Images acquires Word View

In 1996, Getty Images acquired Word View, the market leader in the Benelux and Scandinavia, from Bert Blokhuis.

September 1997: Getty Communications merges with PhotoDisc, Inc. to form Getty Images

In September 1997, Getty Communications merged with PhotoDisc, Inc., resulting in the formation of Getty Images as a unified company.

1999: Getty Images pursues aggressive acquisition program

By 1999, Getty Images had acquired major agencies, including Tony Stone Images, Art.com, Allsport, Liaison Agency, Newsmakers, Online USA, and the Hulton Press Library.

2000: Getty Acquires Archive Photos

In 2000, Getty acquired Archive Photos of New York for US$183 million, combining its library with the Hulton Getty collection to form the Hulton Archive.

April 2003: Getty Images Partners with Agence France-Presse (AFP)

In April 2003, Getty Images partnered with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to market each other's images, expanding their distribution network.

2004: Getty Images purchases image.net

In 2004, Getty Images acquired image.net for US$20 million, expanding its portfolio of images.

February 2006: Getty Images acquires iStockphoto

On 9 February 2006, Getty Images acquired the microstock photo website iStockphoto for US$50 million, venturing into the microstock market.

2006: Getty Images expands in the United States, reaching 2,000 employees

In 2006, Getty Images expanded its operations in the United States, reaching a milestone of 2,000 employees.

February 2007: Getty Images Acquires the Michael Ochs Archives

In February 2007, Getty Images acquired the Michael Ochs Archives, described as the "premier source of musician photography in the world" by The New York Times.

2007: Getty Images Acquires MediaVast

In 2007, Getty Images successfully purchased its largest competitor, MediaVast, for $207 million, gaining control of WireImage, FilmMagic, and Contour Photos.

February 2008: Getty Images to be acquired by Hellman & Friedman

In February 2008, it was announced that Getty Images would be acquired by the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman in a transaction valued at an estimated US$2.4 billion.

July 2008: Getty Images acquired by Hellman & Friedman

On 2 July 2008, Getty Images announced the completion of its acquisition by Hellman & Friedman. Getty Images common stock ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange and was delisted from the NYSE.

October 2008: Getty Images announces intention to buy Jupiterimages

On 23 October 2008, Getty Images announced their intention to buy Jupitermedia's online images division, Jupiterimages, for $96 million in cash.

2008: Controversy over Getty's Copyright Enforcement Methods

Beginning in 2008, Getty Images faced controversy for its copyright enforcement methods, involving demand letters claiming substantial monetary damages for alleged copyright infringements.

2008: Getty Images hosts "Home Time" Exhibition for Barnardo's

In 2008, Getty Images hosted an exhibition of children for Barnardo's child adoption agency, in an exhibition called "Home Time", aimed at helping to find homes for hundreds of children waiting for adoption. It included photographs by celebrity photographer Cambridge Jones, as well as by Cherie Blair, Bruce Oldfield, Andrew Lincoln, Gail Porter, and Claudia Winkleman.

2008: Hellman & Friedman Acquires Getty Images

In 2008, Getty Images was acquired by the private equity firm Hellman & Friedman (H&F) for $2.4 billion.

2008: Getty Purchases Redferns Music Picture Library

In 2008, Getty purchased Redferns Music Picture Library, the music photo library built up by British jazz photographer David Redfern.

February 2009: Getty Images completes acquisition of Jupiterimages

In February 2009, the sale of Jupiterimages (including the sites stock.xchng and StockXpert) to Getty Images was completed, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary.

2009: Car-Freshner Corp. files lawsuit against Getty Images

In 2009, Car-Freshner Corp., makers of Little Trees, filed a lawsuit against Getty Images in U.S. Federal Court, Northern District New York.

2009: Getty's Copyright Enforcement Criticized as "legalized form of extortion"

In 2009, attorney Oscar Michelen criticized Getty's copyright enforcement efforts as a "legalized form of extortion" due to the high fines requested.

2011: Getty Images' motion to dismiss lawsuit denied

In 2011, Getty Images attempted to have the Car-Freshner Corp lawsuit dismissed, but its motion was denied.

2011: Getty Images moves to new headquarters

In 2011, Getty Images relocated its headquarters to the Union Station office complex in Seattle's International District.

2012: Getty Images settles with Car-Freshener Corp.

In 2012, Getty Images agreed to settle the lawsuit with Car-Freshener Corp. by paying $100,000, but admitted no wrongdoing.

2012: Sale of Getty Images by H&F

In 2012, H&F engaged investment bankers to sell Getty Images, with the Carlyle Group eventually acquiring it for $3.3 billion. Co-founders Getty and Klein maintained their investments in the new ownership structure.

2012: Hellman & Friedman puts Getty Images up for sale

In 2012, Hellman & Friedman (H&F) put Getty Images up for sale, with the company having an archive of 80 million stills and illustrations.

September 2013: Avril Nolan Sues Getty Images

In September 2013, Avril Nolan filed a $450,000 lawsuit against Getty Images, alleging that they improperly allowed her image to be used in advertisements that portrayed her as HIV-positive, which she is not. She claimed this misrepresentation damaged her personal and professional relationships and caused her emotional distress.

November 2013: Getty and Agence France-Presse Ordered to Pay Daniel Morel

In November 2013, Getty Images and Agence France-Presse were ordered to pay $1.2 million in compensation to freelance photojournalist Daniel Morel for using his images posted on Twitter related to the 2010 Haiti earthquake without his permission, violating copyright and Twitter's terms of service.

March 2014: Getty Images makes over 35 million images available for free non-commercial use

In March 2014, Getty Images made over 35 million images available for free for non-commercial online use via embedding with attribution to combat online copyright infringement.

March 2014: Judge Rules in Nolan vs. Getty Images

In March 2014, a judge ruled that the lawsuit filed by Avril Nolan against Getty Images will proceed to court instead of being dismissed.

January 2015: Getty Images Settles with Nolan

In January 2015, Getty Images reached a settlement with Avril Nolan regarding the lawsuit she filed against them.

2015: Jonathan Klein becomes Chairman, Dawn Airey hired as CEO of Getty Images

In 2015, Jonathan Klein became the company's chairman and Dawn Airey was hired as chief executive officer (CEO) of Getty Images.

January 2016: Corbis Sells Image Licensing Business to Unity Glory

On 25 January 2016, Corbis announced that it had sold its image licensing business to Unity Glory, an affiliate of Visual China Group, with Getty managing Corbis's physical archives.

July 2016: Getty Sued by Carol Highsmith for $1 Billion

In July 2016, Getty was unsuccessfully sued for over $1 billion by Carol Highsmith, an American photographer. Highsmith, who donated her 100,000+ image collection royalty-free to the Library of Congress, discovered that Getty had been selling unauthorized licenses of her work. This came to light when she received a demand for $120 from a law firm representing Getty for displaying her own pictures on her personal website.

August 2016: Zuma Press Sues Getty Images

In August 2016, Zuma Press, an independent press agency, filed a lawsuit against Getty Images alleging copyright violations and unauthorized licensing of more than 47,000 images.

2016: Getty Images Continues Corbis' Practice

In 2016, Getty Images continued the practice of Corbis (whose license it acquired) by claiming copyright, watermarking, and selling images in the public domain. This included images related to the Holocaust and those created by NASA. Getty has also attempted to collect fees from photographers for using their own images previously placed in the public domain.

February 2018: Google Images modifies interface to meet Getty settlement terms

On 15 February 2018, Google Images modified its interface, including removing the "View image" button, to meet the terms of a settlement and licensing partnership with Getty Images.

September 2018: Getty family to acquire majority stake in Getty Images

In September 2018, the Getty family announced it would acquire majority stake in the company from The Carlyle Group.

December 2018: Dawn Airey steps down as CEO, Craig Peters appointed CEO

In December 2018, Dawn Airey stepped down as CEO of Getty Images, transitioning to a non-executive director role, and Craig Peters was appointed as the new CEO.

2018: Getty Family Acquires Getty Images

In 2018, the Getty family reacquired Getty Images, taking it back into family ownership.

January 2019: Getty Images gallery permanently closed

In January 2019, the Getty Images gallery permanently closed.

2019: Getty Images introduced Market Freeze

In 2019, Getty Images introduced Market Freeze, simplifying exclusivity of rights-managed images.

2020: Getty Images plans to phase out rights-managed imagery

In 2020, Getty Images announced plans to phase out rights-managed imagery in favor of royalty-free images due to changing customer needs.

March 2021: Getty Images acquires Unsplash

In March 2021, Getty Images acquired Unsplash, a free-to-use stock photography website, for an undisclosed sum, expanding its reach in the stock photography market.

December 2021: Getty Images announces intention to go public again

In December 2021, Getty Images announced its intention to become publicly traded again through a combination with CC Neuberger Principal Holdings II.

July 2022: Getty Images goes public again

In July 2022, Getty Images went public again.

July 2022: Getty Images goes public on the New York Stock Exchange

In July 2022, the SPAC merger was completed, and the newly formed parent company of Getty Images went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GETY.

January 17, 2023: Getty Images Sues Stability AI

On January 17, 2023, Getty Images announced it was suing Stability AI for using Getty's images to train its AI art generator, Stable Diffusion, and for imitating Getty Images' trademark.

April 2023: Trillium Capital makes unsolicited bid to acquire Getty

In April 2023, Activist investor Trillium Capital made an unsolicited bid to acquire Getty for US$4 billion, but Getty turned down the offer questioning its credibility.

September 2023: Getty Images Launches AI Image Generator

In September 2023, Getty Images released its own AI image generator, which was trained on its library of licensed stock images.

September 2023: Getty partners with Nvidia to launch Generative AI by Getty Images

In September 2023, Getty announced a partnership with Nvidia to launch Generative AI by Getty Images, a new tool that lets people create images using Getty's library of licensed photos. Getty will use Nvidia's Edify model, which is available on Nvidia's generative AI model library Picasso. Their stock footage is used in Baby Einstein and Little Einsteins.