In what Demotix CEO Turi Munthe referred to on the company's website as a "game changer for both parties, and we reckon a game-changer for the industry," Demotix and Corbis Images have joined in a global distribution partnership.

Corbis is a leading visual media provider for the creative community. Launched in 1989, the company is privately owned by Bill Gates. Demotix is an open news platform was started in 2009. It currently has over 4,000 members from 190 countries and sells images to over 200 news companies.

Corbis will offer an edited selection of breaking news photographs from Demotix's site, reported the British Journal of Photography. The rest of the images will be available on Demotix's site and through its other channels.

Both companies were positive about the agreement. "[Corbis] is the global partner we wanted and need.... Their 200-odd salespeople massively augment our offering from a sales perspective," said Munthe to Journalism.co.uk.

Corbis also plans to gain from the partnership. Anil Ramchand, Director of News, Sports and Entertainment, said, "As some providers of news photography cut back on their geographic coverage, Corbis will now have faster access to quality photojournalism from a community of thousands of local photographers around the world, increasingly making Corbis a destination for news media looking for exceptional breaking news images."

This isn't the first partnership for Demotix. In December, they joined forces with blogging community network Global Voices. Global voices gained a monthly subscription to the images, and Demotix brought Global Voices' blogs to their news hub. Just last month, Press Associated Images gained the right to distribute their images in the U.K. and Ireland.

Corbis also has distribution deals with other media outlets, such as Reuters and the European Pressphoto Agency. According to Journalism.co.uk, a spokesman for the company said the new partnership would complement these deals.

Sources: British Journal of Photography (1), (2), Demotix, Journalism.co.uk (1), (2)