It looks like National Geographic is breaking up with Fine Art Gallery and it might all be due to legal complications between the two parties.
Ken Bower over at PetaPixel did a thorough investigation into the matter which started with photographers not receiving royalties. These photographers also shared an email with Bower detailing such.
The email detailing the termination of the contract (as extracted by PetaPixel):
“As a valued member of our photography community, I am writing to inform you of a recent development with the National Geographic Fine Art Galleries which have been operated by Veseli Fine Art under a licensing agreement with National Geographic since 2014. That licensing agreement, which led to the creation of the National Geographic branded fine art galleries in select locations around the U.S, has been terminated effective immediately. This decision is unrelated to the changes to National Geographic’s image sales agency business that we shared with many of you a few weeks ago.
We recognize the financial impact this may have on you and will make every effort to collect all sales information to guarantee that all commissions are paid.”
Detailing the reasoning behind the decision, a follow-up email read in part:
“This decision was a legal decision with a National Geographic licensee, not a business decision. It also means that we are bound by the confidentiality clauses in our agreement, which survive termination, so we are limited in the details we can provide.
The immediate impact of the decision is that the licensee (Veseli Fine Arts/VFA) no longer has rights to the National Geographic name or logos and no longer has rights to sell prints of images provided by National Geographic. Ultimately the branded sites and the branding on the stores will be removed.”
As of press, all of the National Geographic branding is removed from the former partnership galleries.
What do you think of National Geographic’s move to terminate its contract with Fine Art Gallery? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section below.
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