Microsoft, Getty Images settle dispute over online photo tool

By Andrew Chung
(From L to R) Microsoft Corp Chief Executive Satya Nadella, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood, Chairman John Thompson, and Executive Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith take questions at the annual shareholders' meeting in Bellevue, Washington December 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Redmond

By Andrew Chung NEW YORK (Reuters) - Getty Images has dropped its lawsuit against Microsoft Corp over alleged "massive" copyright infringement, announcing on Tuesday a plan to amicably bring Getty's photos to Microsoft's Internet search engine and devices. Getty sued Microsoft last September in federal court in Manhattan, claiming the software company's online photo tool, the Bing Image Widget, displayed copyrighted photos supplied by its Bing search engine without payment or attribution. Getty owns or represents the owners of more than 80 million digital images. On Monday, the two companies told the court they were dismissing all claims against each other. Getty and Microsoft both told Reuters on Tuesday the move was part of a "broad business partnership." Getty also announced in a press release the two firms would co-develop applications to be used in Microsoft products, including Bing and Cortana, the digital assistant found on its mobile phones. Even though Microsoft had removed the widget the day after the lawsuit was filed, Getty pressed forward with its case, saying Microsoft could relaunch the widget at any time. U.S. District Judge Denise Cote last November refused Microsoft's request to throw out the lawsuit. The case is Getty Images Inc v. Microsoft Corp, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 14-cv-7114.