Legal Question Regarding Copyrights!!!!
By trickiwoo
@trickiwoo (2702)
United States
March 12, 2008 11:15pm CST
So I'm interested in entering one of my photos in a photography competition. However, when reading the terms of service for the contest, I found that it says, "You agree that such submissions become the property of [Contest Sponsor] and that all title and interest therein, including all rights of copyright shall vest with [Contest Sponsor] at the time they are posted. Such submissions are subject to being used, reproduced, modified, published, edited, translated, distributed, performed and displayed in any media or medium, or any form, format or forum now known or hereafter developed, for any purpose, in perpetuity without further notice."
I was just wondering what exactly that meant as far as my copyrights. After submitting an image, do I no longer hold the copyrights to that image? Or do I just give the contest sponsor permission to use the image?
2 people like this
4 responses
@jayperiod (870)
• United States
13 Mar 08
If you do this, you are giving away your copyrights. You will not be able to sell or publish these photos. You will still be able to display them, but not to make money from them. I would never do something like this.
1 person likes this
@trickiwoo (2702)
• United States
13 Mar 08
I had a lawyer look over the Terms and Conditions for the contest, and he said that it is a non-exclusive agreement. According to the conditions, I still own my image and can use it however I'd like, however by entering the image the sponsor can use my image however they'd like as well, including claiming that they took the photo.
1 person likes this
@darcyjohnperkins (10)
• Australia
14 Mar 08
No, you do not still have ownership over your photography, if entered. I'm not sure If you'll legally be allowed to re-use it yourself, but you definitely no longer own it. Sucks, eh?
@trickiwoo (2702)
• United States
14 Mar 08
I spoke with a lawyer about this. He said that I do still own my photos and can use them however I want, but by entering the contest I give the sponsor the right to use my photo however they want, and they do not even need to credit me. They can even legally claim that they took the picture. However, I can still legally sell, distribute, and use my photo too.
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
13 Mar 08
I must start with saying that I'm not a lawyer. But, it appears that you still own the copyright, but you are giving all rights to the sponsor to do whatever they want with the photo once you submit it. That also includes using it for their own purposes during and after the competition.
I once submitted some artwork to a competition and it had a similar stipulation. Basically, even if they didn't choose my artwork, they could hold on to it and use it for whatever purpose they wanted to in the future. So, I can't sue them if they used it on a product or poster later on.
That's the drawback to entering into some competitions. It's up to you if you want to give up your photo without any, or very little, compensation.
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
13 Mar 08
I correct that because when I re-read your post, I realized that the words "property of" are mentioned. That might mean that you are basically giving them all rights. I would ask them about this.
1 person likes this
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
13 Mar 08
One web cite I read said that if the contest wants to retain all the right to your work don't enter. Many contests will say that the wining photos become their property, but you receive a prize for it. I would be careful about entering contest that did not let me have control over the use of my work.
