Defining the Rights You Need

Respecting the Photographers Rights

Clearly there will be some variation in the rights an organisers needs depending on how a contest is being promoted and the usages required. The sample terms and conditions given in this part cover all the usages permitted by the Bill of Rights for Photography Competitions and therefore may include usage rights that you do not require. You can omit those terms and conditions concerning rights that you do not require.

Usually competition terms and conditions that define the rights needed by the organiser begin with a statement to re-assure the entrant that their copyright is respected and that the organiser does not make any claim on the entrants copyright for the submitted images. A statement should also be included to state that when the entrants photograph is published it will always be credited. For example -

3. Your Copyright and Moral Rights

1. Organisation Name respects photographers rights and does not claim copyright for images You submit to this contest, You will retain full copyright in each entry.

2. In addition your moral rights are respected. Whenever Your image is published by Organisation Name (and its partners) You will be credited.  Failure to publish a credit due to error or oversight shall not be deemed a breach of this condition.

Moral Rights

You may see statements in some contests requiring entrants to waive their moral rights. Such a statement is prohibited by the Bill of Rights for Photography Competitions and should not be used. 

We are aware that there is no specific provision in, for example, U.S. copyright law with regard to moral rights (as set out in the Berne Convention), however it is claimed in the U.S. that other provisions within U.S. law provide similar protection.

However, the Bill of Rights for Photography Competitions takes its lead from the Berne Convention and stands on the principle that moral rights will be respected in competitions worldwide regardless of the presence or absence of specific legislation regarding these moral rights in individual countries.

Two of the important moral rights considered in this section are the right to be credited and the right to object to derogatory treatment of one’s work.  The right to be credited is explicitly dealt with in the sample terms and conditions at 3.2 above.

With regard to objecting to derogatory treatment it is sometimes proposed by an organiser’s legal counsel that a ‘waive moral rights’ statement be added as a way of ensuring that entrants are unable to bring an action against the organiser for say, cropping a photo.  Far be it from us to criticise legal counsel, who after all are only trying to protect their client, as they should, but the use of such a statement only brings a contest into disrepute amongst photographers, photographers are less likely to enter it, and it is likely to generate negative publicity for the organiser.  All unwelcome and unecessary outcomes.

Requesting that moral rights be waived is unnecessary providing the organiser is clear in the terms and conditions about the rights they need. One of the rights they may need is the right to crop a photograph to make it fit to some pre-defined layout on a website, to use it in a collage, publish it on a card and so on.  It is unlikely that as an organiser you would wish to crop a photo to such an extent that the entrant who submitted it would feel that it is derogatory treatment of their image. To spoil the appearance of an image by excessive cropping is not in the competitions interest, the contest is best promoted by displaying the images sympathetically and as the photographer would expect.

Defining the Rights You Need

The rights needed by a contest organisers are usually presented as a list as the sample terms and conditions below illustrate, each list item defining one of the rights needed. Note that paragraph 4.2 below specifies the period of time that the rights are required for. The Bill of Rights permits a maximum period of five years but choose the shortest period of time appropriate to the usage rights you need.

4. Use of Images

4.1 By entering this contest You agree agree that any (winning or shortlisted) image You submit may be used by Organisation Name (and its partners) solely for marketing and promotional purposes of this contest or future contests and no other purpose, these uses include;

1. judging the competition,
2. displaying the entries on the competition website (and websites of partners),
3. displaying the entries at public exhibitions to promote the competition,
4. displaying the entries in a book, magazine or similar,
5. publishing the entries on posters to promote the competition,
6. publishing the entries on postcards to promote the competition,
7. publishing the entries on a calendar to promote the competition,
8. cropping and re-sizing the image as necessary to fit pre-defined formats to promote the competition,
   
9. sub-licensing the entries to the press for reproduction in connection with the competition and any related exhibition,
10. inclusion within any materials promoting the competition or any exhibition of images from this competition organized by Organization Name

4.2 You hereby grant Organization Name a non-exclusive, irrevocable licence in each Entry throughout the world  in all media for the uses described in 4.1 above for <n> years following the date of announcement of the winners.

4.3 You acknowledge Your responsibility for protecting your Entry against image misuse by third parties, by for example, but not limited to, the insertion of a watermark. Organization Name and its Partners can assume no responsibility and are not liable for any image misuse.

4.4 Should any image uses beyond those needed to promote the contest arise You will be contacted and given the opportunity to negotiate any such usage with the parties concerned independently of the competition.

Notes on the Use of Images Terms & Conditions

In paragraph 4.1 above note the optional phrase winning or shortlisted. You should include this phrase if you intend only to use the winning or shortlisted entries to promote the competition.

In paragraph 4.2 insert the number of years that you intend to use the images the images for. The Bill of Rights for Photography Competitions permits up to a maximum of five years usage, choose the shortest time period appropriate to your promotional needs.

The list of uses given under paragraph 4.1 above are typical of the common usages. Delete those uses you don't need. Add any other uses you do need providing such uses are solely to promote the competition.

Paragraph 4.4 makes clear that any uses beyond those needed solely to promote the contest are to be negotiated with the photographer independently of the competition.