This is where Ian Burley, DPNow's editor and founder, shares his unique thoughts and impressions on subjects that he hopes will be of interest to others on the subjects of digital photography and other related or loosely related topics! You can follow DPNow Editor's blog on Facebook and Twitter, too.
Beware photo competition rules
Tags claim, competition, copyright, lowepro, restrictive, rights, rules
Yesterday we published news that the well known camera bag brand, Lowepro, were launching a photography competition. We all like photography contests - they provide an opportunity to show off your prowess and to enjoy the work of others who have entered their photos.
The problem is that occasionally such entrants may find that it's practically no longer their work any more. The Lowepro competition rules make all sorts of claims and not just on the winning photos, but of all photos entered, as John H. Maw discovered. Here is just one excerpt of the rules that John revealed on the forum:
"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."
We can only deduce that they want to have unrestricted use of any picture entered and they also impose restrictions on what you can do with your own photograph.
So is this right? How common is this kind of all-encompassing claim on your work in photography competitions? Can they legally claim all this? Is it fair? Is it moral? Ultimately, could this backfire on Lowepro?
I've asked Lowepro's PR company to help me answer some of these questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I get some response.
The problem is that occasionally such entrants may find that it's practically no longer their work any more. The Lowepro competition rules make all sorts of claims and not just on the winning photos, but of all photos entered, as John H. Maw discovered. Here is just one excerpt of the rules that John revealed on the forum:
"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."
We can only deduce that they want to have unrestricted use of any picture entered and they also impose restrictions on what you can do with your own photograph.
So is this right? How common is this kind of all-encompassing claim on your work in photography competitions? Can they legally claim all this? Is it fair? Is it moral? Ultimately, could this backfire on Lowepro?
I've asked Lowepro's PR company to help me answer some of these questions and I'll get back to you as soon as I get some response.
Total Comments 5
Comments
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Well done Ian. This seems to be the tip of a rather nasty iceberg. Unless "rights grab" contests are shown up for what they really are - a very cheap way of acquiring the rights to a lot of images - this practice will continue unchecked. Incidentally, how does Lowepro expect to sell bags to photographers if they are all struggling to make a living because of the actions of companies like Lowepro. Maybe they haven't thought this out well, or are they moving from the bag making business into the photo library business?Posted 15-07-10 at 05:53 PM by John H. Maw 
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I agree and congratulate you Ian for highlighting these nasty rules. I hope you can get more press on board and keep pressure on companies doing this sort of thing.
As a matter of interest is it legal to have rules of this sort, there are laws governing unfair contracts, are competition rules considered contracts?
PatrickPosted 15-07-10 at 11:24 PM by Patrick
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i knew i shouldn't have deleted all those out of focus images. seem they're ideal candidates for this competition.
a NAUI competition was highlighted on a diving forum i use. a journalist added this useful info: "Under English Law you cannot sign away your Statutory Rights. The Copyright Designs and Patents Act has enshrined the copyright as belonging to the author and the author's estate until 75 years after the demise of the author. So enter the competition here and if they use your work without you express permission, sue them in England's courts."
i think the key words here are "statutory rights"
Posted 16-07-10 at 11:32 AM by devilgas
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The question is - is the purpose of the competition to celebrate the work of the entrants, or to be an extremely low cost source of photography stock for the organisers? I'm told that the person liaising with Lowepro (in the US) is looking into the question and will get back to me in the next few days.
Posted 16-07-10 at 11:46 AM by Ian
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Very interesting.
Posted 17-07-10 at 05:55 PM by
