Passionate Rights Grab
Competitions that take all rights including moral rights and copyright to the entrants’ photos are on a par with scams like Schmap which pay nothing and just expect us all to be skipping with glee that they want to use our work. Okay, they’re a tiny bit different. If you win that laptop or fancypants camera, you might feel the risk is justified. But what about all the other entrants, the ones that win nothing?
As student and early career photographers we are encouraged never to give our work away. We know that valuing our work at £0 devalues not only our whole portfolio but the work of our colleagues and the integrity of the profession.
So when you’re coerced encouraged by your favourite tutor to enter a competition run by the big, glossy Regional Development Agency, you don’t look at the small print, right? Wrong.
photo credit © Holly Miller 2008
The Passionate Rights Grab includes these clauses:
26. In consideration of One NorthEast agreeing to make arrangements for the potential inclusion of the winning idea(s)/work within the Campaign, participants hereby assign all rights and grant all consents necessary to One NorthEast to enable One NorthEast to exploit or authorise others to reproduce, edit, use and exploit the products of any participation received by One NorthEast in conjunction with or separately from the Campaign by all means and in all media throughout the universe in perpetuity to the extent permitted by law and irrevocably and unconditionally waives all moral rights they may have in and to the products of the participation. All intellectual property rights in the winning ideas and any materials produced in connection with the ideas will become the property of One NorthEast.
and:
28. Entrants permit One NorthEast to edit or change entries in any way it may in its sole discretion consider necessary for the purposes of use in the Campaign.
29. Entrants, by entering the Challenge, waive in favour of One NorthEast and those authorised by it any so-called “moral rights” they may have in relation to an entry.
We like competitions: they’re a good way to get our name known in the marketplace, and they are useful for the CV. So whilst we’d be more than happy to allow competition organisers a licence to use a photograph for the purposes of the competition, we really don’t think it’s at all good form to take away all our rights: “in perpetuity” means for ever and ever. And we certainly wouldn’t give up any moral rights, would we? No!
Getting the region’s Colleges to collude in taking photographs (and other media) from students, who’re trusting of their tutors, and new to all this legal stuff, must seem as easy as taking the proverbial lollipop from a baby. Well, not quite.
photo credit © Sophie Pickard 2008
This weekend, TPP has been in conversation with the Rights specialists at Pro Imaging and they have been pleased to take up our cause. We’re going to write to the College and the RDA ourselves, but in the meantime, we hope they see this post in their referral logs. We will also be writing to all the sponsors, asking them to withdraw their support for this shameful exploitation.
photo credit © Craig Stephenson 2008
Please add your support in the comments area below. We’ll be posting copies of letters we send out and through Pro Imaging are in discussion with The AOP, who are also keen to help protect our interests. More soon….
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6 Responses to “Passionate Rights Grab”
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More power to you for raising this issue. Well done…too many photographic competitions have T’s and C’s which grab rights from those who enter; some in the form of a permanent licence to use and others, like this, actually take - or claim to take - copyright.
it’s interesting to note that terms like this are illegal in law, so those that perpetuate them should think very hard about what it is they actually want.
If you have been ‘encouraged’ to take part in such a competition, that too is very sad. i would have hoped that photographic tutors would have their students’ interests at heart first and foremost.
Well done Brenda for standing up for your rights!
Most competitions are just out to strip you of your rights, your creativity, and profit from your unique view of the world. There are a few good ones, but most are just harvesting other peoples creative ideas for free.
I hope all the students will simply so NO NO NO to all such competitions in future. Don’t be persuaded by anyone, even your tutors. Tutors ought to be protective of and nurturing the talents and rights of the students entrusted to their care.
It’s accurate to say that two years spent learning from one’s (always costly) mistakes is what undergraduate life is like, unfortunately.
It’s wonderful to see how active and enterprising you are. I look forward to seeing how you and your friends get on with managing your rights in this ill willed competition.
Best to learn the ropes early, but sorry it had to be the hard way. It is great you are spreading the word, and three cheers to pro-imaging.org, too!
boston, ma, usa
Thank you Don. Letter to One NE and the competition sponsors has now been sent. Tuesday is going to be interesting: will write an update then.
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