Tourism AustraliaAbout this Organisation
Under the Tourism Australia Act (2004) their objectives are set out as follows:
Their total revenue in 2009 was in excess of $161 million of which the tax payer contributed $137 million. They are governed by a Board of Directors who report to the Australian Federal Minister for Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM, MP. About this Report 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ensuring that all their contests will comply with the Bill of Rights, Rights Off reports for that organisation will be unpublished.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. ### There's Nothing Like AustraliaClosing Date 12 May 2010 RULES AT 20 APRIL 2010 11. By entering the Promotion, Eligible Entrants absolutely and unconditionally assign (and agree to use their best endeavours to procure any relevant third parties to absolutely and unconditionally assign) to the Promoter all right, title and interest in all intellectual property rights in their entry, including ownership of intellectual property rights in any photograph that forms part of an entry. 12. By entering the Promotion, Eligible Entrants acknowledge that their entry may be used by the Promoter, the Promoter's related entities, agencies engaged by the Promoter, or any other third party nominated by the Promoter, for the Promoter's current and future promotional and marketing purposes without further reference or compensation to them. Eligible Entrants unconditionally and irrevocably: (a) consent to any act or omission that would otherwise infringe any of their moral rights in their entry (as defined in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)) and present and future rights of a similar nature conferred by statute anywhere in the world whether occurring before or after this consent is given (Moral Rights); and (b) waive all Moral Rights in their entry that arise outside Australia. The Promoter is listed in the terms as Tourism Australia. PRO-IMAGING COMMENT ON RULES 20 APRIL 2010 We are lost for words to describe how we feel about the above terms and conditions as set by an agency of the Australian Government. Their terms and conditions remove all rights held by entrants, including copyright and moral rights. While the terms set by the Australian Government for this contest might be legal, they heap shame on all those who drafted and approved them. Not only is the Australian Goverment setting terms that nullify the rights that entrants have under Australian law, they are seeking to nullify via rule 12b) rights entrants enjoy under the laws of other countries. Such an unrestrained greed for rights, especially when conducted by a government, is completely indefensible. It undermines the spirit of the Berne Convention to which Australia is a signatory. A government's duty should be to respect and protect the intellectual property rights of its citizens, but not in Australia it would appear. As they say in the competition title "There's Nothing Like Australia", a most unfortunate choice of title. RULES AT 18 MAY 2010 11. By entering the Promotion, Eligible Entrants grant Tourism Australia a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, transferrable licence to use, reproduce, publish, modify, adapt, distribute, store, run, display, creative derivative works from, cause to be seen or heard and communicate to the public the entry (or including the photograph and text that forms part of the entry) in all media. 12. By entering the Promotion, Eligible Entrants acknowledge that their entry may be used by the Promoter, the Promoter's related entities, agencies engaged by the Promoter, or any other third party nominated by the Promoter, for the Promoter's current and future promotional and marketing purposes without further reference or compensation to them. Eligible Entrants unconditionally and irrevocably: (a) consent to any act or omission that would otherwise infringe any of their moral rights in their entry (as defined in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)) and present and future rights of a similar nature conferred by statute anywhere in the world whether occurring before or after this consent is given (Moral Rights); and (b) waive all Moral Rights in their entry that arise outside Australia. PRO-IMAGING COMMENT ON RULES 18 MAY 2010 On 18 May 2010 we recieved a letter from the Office of the Australian Minister for Tourism, The Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP. That letter indicated that Tourism Australia had revised the rules following feedback from Pro-Imaging and others. Unfortunately, as you can see from the revised rules listed above, all they have done is to relinquish their claim for copyright. The new rules set by Tourism Australia still claim the right to use all the entrants submissions for ever, for any purpose they wish, freely, with no credit, and in any media. They still require all entrants to waive their moral rights, not only under Australian law, but such rights as they enjoy under the laws of other countries. We are dismayed that the Australian Governments Tourism Department continue with their limitless greed for others intellectual property rights, even to the extent of attempting to nullify certain provisions of intellectual property laws in other countries. We leave it to the reader to consider what ethical principles Tourism Australia followed when drafting such terms and conditions. The following summarise where the current T&C's fail to comply with the Bill of Rights.
The reader is referred to the Bill of Rights for more detail regarding the above issues. Do not enter this competition. We have written again to the Australian Minister for Tourism, you van read our letter here. SPONSORS None listed CONTACT To complain to the organiser use this contact form and mark it for the attention of the Chairman of Tourism Australia, Rick Allert AO. The Minister responsible to for Tourism Australia is the Hon Martin Ferguson AM, MP He supports this organisation with over $137 million of public money. You can complain to him by using this email address; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Pro-Imaging have sent a notice to the Minister. To visit the competition website click the competition title above to submit the free photo we have created. Note that the competition link may cease to work at some point after the competition results are announced. You can help the Bill of Rights campaign by complaining and urging that the terms and conditions be changed. 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. Updated on 20 April 2010
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 -
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.
© Bill of Rights Supporters Group
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. |
Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for the international and domestic marketing of Australia as a destination for leisure and business travel.
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