Pro-Imaging

Bill of Rights Condition 1

Copyright is Retained by all Photographers Entering the Contest

Copyright is a fundamental right given freely to everyone by the laws of most countries in respect of each and every creative work they make. Thus as soon as you take a photograph you are the owner of the copyright invested in that photograph. Note that in a few countries there can be exceptions to this position.

Owning the copyright gives you a means of earning money from your creativity. As owner of copyright you have the exclusive right to license the photograph to others who may wish to use it. Without a license from the copyright owner other people or organisations are not permitted to use your photograph, and if they were to do so they are guilty of copyright infringement.

In the license you would detail the specific uses that could be made of the photograph, how long it could be used for those purposes, and of course the fee.

The fee is negotiable, but generally speaking the fee will increase for longer periods, for wider usage rights, and if the right to use it exclusively for a period of time is desired then the fee will be much higher. The reason for a higher fee for exclusive use is simply that while an image is subject to an exclusive use license you will be unable to license it to anyone else.

Thus owning copyright for a photograph and the ability to license usage is an extremely valuable economic benefit.

Note that in most countries a transfer of copyright to another person or organisation is only valid by means of a written and signed agreement. Simply claiming copyright in the terms and conditions of a contest in the absence of a written agreement to transfer copyright and signed by the copyright holder is not valid in law. If such an agreement is placed before you do not sign it.

Many organisers of competitions seek to acquire copyright from you because it is so valuable, potentially so much more valuable even for one photograph than the value of prizes they are giving away.

Competitions which seek to acquire copyright cannot be approved by Pro-Imaging.

NB! The above is not to be read as a statement of the law. It is merely an outline of the main provisions of copyright. If you need legal advice regarding copyright issues you should consult a lawyer specialising in intellectual property of which copyright is a part. If you want to read authoritative documents regarding copyright you will find links to them on our page entitled Copyright Law around the World.