Legal advice lead to straying from fair intentions
We routinely posted a press release from camera gear bag maker Lowepro in the US last week and almost immediately eagle-eyed DPNow patron, John Maw, highlighted some significant concerns about the competition rules. Posted in the DPNow forum, here's what John brought to our attention:
"I've just been looking through the terms and conditions for this competition (My Favorite Things Photo Contest).
http://www.lowepro.com/my-favorite-t...and-conditions
"Entrants agree that they will not use the Entry for any other purpose, including, without limitation, posting the Entry to any online social networks, without the express consent of Sponsors in each instance."
and further on
"OWNERSHIP/USE OF ENTRIES: For All Entries: By submitting an Entry, each entrant agrees that Sponsors shall have a non-exclusive, perpetual, fully-paid up and royalty-free license to the Entry submitted (including all rights embodied therein) and that they and their respective designees may exploit, edit, alter, modify, and distribute the Entry and all elements of such Entry, including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations embodied therein, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, including in print and online, worldwide, without compensation, permission or notification to entrant or any third party. MORAL RIGHTS: To the extent permitted by law, each entrant waives and releases the Released Parties from any and all claims that each entrant may now or hereafter have in any jurisdiction based on “moral rights” or “droit moral” or unfair competition with respect to Sponsors’ exploitation of Entries without further notification or compensation to entrants of any kind, and agrees not to instigate, support, maintain, or authorize any action, claim, or lawsuit against the Released Parties in connection with this Contest, on the grounds that any use of any Entry or any derivative works thereof, infringe or violate any rights of any entrant and/or any participant therein."
I hope that someone with more legal experience than I takes a look at this and can give an opinion. Is this what is often referred to as a "rights grab"? I would love to get the view of someone with more knowledge.
If these terms were restricted to just the winning entries then fair enough, but the use of the word "entry" seems to indicate that is applies to all entries whether they receive a prize or not. If my reading of the terms is correct, the so called sponsors are going to end up with a very cheap collection of images which they can use as they want."
Later, John observed: 'I noticed with some amusement that the Lowepro tag line is "the trusted original". Irony or what.'
Alas, such grab-all style competition rules are not a rarity. Indeed, we wondered how any self respecting photographer could contemplate entering a competition that made such huge claims on the image that was entered in the first place. Remember, the words claim exclusive rights and usage for any image entered, not just the winners. It's tempting to think that there is an alterior motive to harvest images from entrants, but surely Lowepro, a trusted and admired brand, could not be accused of such a strategy. In our book, competitions are to celebrate the work of photographers, not to pressurise them into inadvertently losing cherished rights to their images.
We immediately brought these concerns to Lowepro's attention in the US via their PR company. It's taken a few days but the wait has been worth it. Here is the response:
"Thank you again for contacting us about the submission requirements for Lowepro’s “My Favorite Places” Contest. As can often be the case in devising the required rules for contests like these, the demands of the legal advisors can often stray from the fair intentions of the contest and the company. In speaking with Sam Marsh, Lowepro’s Worldwide Marketing Communications Manager, she would like to assure photographers that Lowepro’s intention is to provide full photo credit and copyright protections for any image use by Lowepro and its distributors in conjunction with the contest. The intent in using the images is to give the photographers global exposure. Lowepro has no intention whatsoever of depriving photographers of ownership or future rights of their images.
Lowepro takes your feedback and the feedback of all photographers very seriously and as a result of these types of inquiries, Lowepro has asked their counsel to reevaluate the terms and conditions.
If you, or your readers, have any further questions on the rules package for the contest, please do not hesitate to follow up."
This is statement is very reassuring and appears to guarantee that there is no intention of forcing any photographer who enters the competition be denied their fair rights. If you have any responses, we can forward them on your behalf.
We will follow up with any further news on the competition rules if we receive any.
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