Pro-Imaging

Reed Elsevier t/a Focal Press, #Netherlands

Photo competitions and image appeals are notified to us by our contributors from around the world. Listed below are some photo competitions or image appeals promoted by the above organisation which have not met the standards set out in the Bill of Rights.

If the terms and conditions of a contest or appeal fail to meet the standards set out in the Bill of Rights the organisation is added to the Rights Off List and a report such as this produced. We have listed in this report the terms and conditions which failed the Bill of Rights to help the organiser carry out a review. The extracted terms and conditions are shown below in italics.

For advice on why failing to meet the standards set out in the Bill of Rights is a serious issue please read this article.

If at some future date a competition organiser decides to join the Bill of Rights Supporters Group, thus ensuring that all their contests will comply with the Bill of Rights, Rights Off reports for that organisation will be unpublished.

The purpose of the Bill of Rights Campaign is to provide education to the public about the value of rights and to encourage photography competition organisers to adopt the ethical practices set out in the Bill of Rights.

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Focal Monthly Photo Contest

Monthly Competition

RULES

Notice to Winner: The potential winners will be notified by e-mail within fourteen (14) days after the close of the Contest Entry Period and may be asked to execute and return to Sponsor an affidavit of eligibility and release within fourteen (14) days of attempted notification. Non-compliance within that time may result in disqualification and the selection of an alternate winner. Return of any prize/prize notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected based upon the judging criteria.

Right to Use Entries. By entering the Contest, entrants grant Sponsor a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide right and license to reproduce, publish, display and otherwise use their submitted image(s), credited with entrant’s full name and city and state/province/country of residence, online and in print or any other media for purposes of editorials, exhibition, advertising, publicity and promotion of the Contest and Sponsor’s publications and products, without additional compensation or permission, unless prohibited by law.

The sponsor is Elsevier Inc. and is part of the Reed Elsevier Group.

Reed Elsevier make this statement on their Responsible Business page,

We aim to be corporate responsibility leaders. We act responsibly as a business, work with communities, and support causes, like environmental conservation, we believe to be important. Our Corporate Responsibility programme has clearly identified priorities and goals.

Through Reed Elsevier Cares, we make it easy for employees to become involved in community projects. And all full-time staff have up to two days off per year for volunteering of their own choosing.

We also recognise that treating our customers well is essential. Our responsibility to them is specifically recognised in our goals – using our inventiveness and creativity to meet their needs.

SPONSORS

None listed

CONTACT

Use this contact page for Reed Elsevier.

You can help the Bill of Rights campaign by complaining to the organiser urging them to change their terms and conditions. If time is at a premium for you we have prepared a complaint email which you can copy and send to the organiser.

The Bill of Rights campaign depends on your active support, your help will make a difference.

To write to Focal Press use this contact form.

Updated on 17 July 2009

The Bill of Rights Standards for Photography Competitions

Competitions which meet all the standards set out in the Bill of Rights do not do any of the following -

claim copyright
seek waiving of moral rights
fail to give a credit for all free usage.
add, alter, or remove metadata from digital images
seek usage rights other than for solely and exclusively promoting the contest. Note that a book, posters, cards, or a calendar are seen as legitimate ways of promoting the contest and defraying costs.
seek free usage rights in excess of 5 years
use the images commercially without the photographers agreement, and such commercial usage is to be rights managed and limited to 5 years.
make it a condition of winning that an entrant must sign a commercial usage agreement.
fail to publish all documents on the competition website that an entrant may have to sign
fail to name the judges for this or last year's competition
fail to explicitly state all the organisations who will acquire rights to the images
set a closing date more than 18 months after the contest launch date
fail to make clear statements of rights claimed and how images are used.

We have written an Organisers Guide to the Bill of Rights to help organisers draft terms and conditions that respect the rights of entrants and at the same time provide legal protection for the organiser.

The above text may be reproduced providing a link is given to the Bill of Rights For Photography Competitions.

Any text reproduced above in italics has been extracted from a competition website for the purposes of review.

Organisations who would like to be promoted as a Bill of Rights Supporter and have their competitions promoted on the Rights On List can use this contact form. One of the campaign team will get in touch with you.