Photo contest T&C

dbr1066

dbr1066

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David
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Hey all,

(mods, I hope this is the correct forum, if not, I apologise and feel free to move this thread)!

Just for a lark, and because its the end of a long day and I was looking for an excuse to avoid actual work, I decided to enter a competition launched by Visit Cornwall, the official tourist board for Cornwall. My only reason for entering was the chance to win a family holiday in Cornwall (which would then give me an opportunity to photograph some cool locations!)

I was all set to submit my images when I came to the terms and conditions, specifically this:

"By participating in the promotion the entrants licence and grants the promoter a royalty free, perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable and sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and display such content for any purpose in any media, without compensation, restriction on use, attribution or liability. Participants agree not to assert any moral rights in relation to such use where the moral rights in respect of the content are theirs to assert."​

Which I read as saying they can do anything they want, forever. I get that most contests want to be able to use the images to promote themselves; that's cool, and I have no problem with that. However, it seems like they want to completely take over all image rights, and specifically say they won't attribute the images. Is this over the top, or just legalese?

I realise that I can choose to NOT enter the contest, which is what I'm inclined to do, as the T&C bugs me. I'd just be interested in other togs reaction to the T&C.
 
dbr1066 said:
Which I read as saying they can do anything they want, forever. I get that most contests want to be able to use the images to promote themselves; that's cool, and I have no problem with that. However, it seems like they want to completely take over all image rights, and specifically say they won't attribute the images. Is this over the top, or just legalese?
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There's nothing in the terms about exclusivity. So they're not taking over all image rights.
 
dbr1066 said:
H

..... irrevocable and sub-licensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish and display such content for any purpose in any media, without compensation, restriction on use, attribution or liability. .​
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That is a substantial rights grab - the fact they're not attempting to strip the photographer of copyright doesn't change that.

David - you can always contact the competition organisers and ask for clarification. By that I mean 'is the usage set out limited to your company and its agents and affiliates - or are you expecting to sublicense my photograph to anybody who wishes to have it'.​
 
Good point Lindsay. I realise they aren't claiming copyright; but it just seemed the scope of the rights they are claiming was over the top. Since this was just a whim of mine to consider entering I think I'll just pass on the whole thing. I guess it just shows that its important to actually read the fine print!
 
dbr1066 said:
Good point Lindsay. I realise they aren't claiming copyright; but it just seemed the scope of the rights they are claiming was over the top. Since this was just a whim of mine to consider entering I think I'll just pass on the whole thing. I guess it just shows that its important to actually read the fine print!
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They don't need to claim Copyright (good luck to them even trying) in order to claim very substantial rights to your pictures - it does appear to be quite over the top, and this kind of wording is common. I do think it's an interesting exercise to actually write and ask them for clarification. You are correct about the fine print - I think very few people even read the terms of entry and even less understand them. There was a very comprehensive thread a few months back here on the forum regarding the terms attached to the BA photo competition - this really kicked off and BA were forced to respond. If you do a quick search it's worth a read.
 
Pretty much par for the course for tourist boards nowadays. They're all at it.
 
It looks like they would be entitled to use it themselves but not to sell it to others?
 
StewartR said:
There's nothing in the terms about exclusivity. So they're not taking over all image rights.
Click to expand...

Indeed - if you added exclusivity to all of those existing terms, it'd be effectively the same as transferring copyright.

Never touch comps like this with a bargepole, they're just after a dirt-cheap stock photo library. The prize may look decent to an individual entrant but, compared to what they'll potentially get in terms of a photo library, it's peanuts to them.
 
Standard rights grab. They seem to be everywhere these days. Even the Supreme Court is getting in on the act.

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Sometimes they are because of ignorance or overcaution - competition organisers ask for the copyright when all they really need or want is permission to publish them on their Facebook page, for instance. Other times of course they are deployed by the unscrupulous who rely on the ignorance of photographers to exploit them.
 
Well if the prize was worth it and it only applied to winning photos but not to every looser too.
stick a copyright over it :)
 
A complete and utter con trick. The problem is SO many people fall for it because they think they can get to see their photos in print or on the web. It saves the competition organisers an awful lot of money in reproduction fees.

The most recent big example I'm aware of is the Ordnance Survey. They've used my pics on a few of their map covers and the fee was quite reasonable.

Then there was a change of staff and some bright spark thought -

"I know how we can get free photo's for our map covers. We'll organise a competition"

And that is what they did. A whole range of maps, all with new cover images, all free of charge, thanks to a "competition" and hundreds of gullible photographers. It makes my blood boil. As you can see.
 
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