This past week I learned about a truly insane photo contest that seems to be a disaster in the making and a photo event that seemed to have questionable motives that turns out to be OK in the end. Contrasted are the stories of Microsoft Iconic Britain contest and Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk.
Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk
A concerned reader emailed me, quoting the Terms & Conditions of Use of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk, wondering what the true purpose of the event was. At first glance the Terms seem to focus on the use of all images taken by those participating in the Photo Walk. If you read closely the terms specify usage rights and permission for “winning images” versus all images.
“One (1) year usage rights and permissions to use, re-use, publish, and re-publish your winning image(s) you created, or reproduction hereof in color or otherwise, made through any and all media now or hereafter known for illustration, art, promotion, advertising, trade, or any other purpose whatsoever.”
I wrote Scott before realizing that he had just posted a Q&A to the event on his blog. The entry detailed basic questions and answers and also addressed concerns about the terms. If you have questions about the event I recommend referencing this post. Kudos to Scott not only for having a great sense of humor but personally responding to me via e-mail. For those who still have a concern about the terms of the event your best option is to take part, but don’t submit photos into the contest. To quote Scott “the whole contest part of this is just for fun, and if for any reason anyone is uncomfortable with the ToU, they shouldn’t enter the competition part, and just enjoy the walk.”
Microsoft Iconic Britain contest
Pro-Imaging has been tracking the Microsoft sponsored Iconic Britain contest that is just asking for trouble.
Entrants are required to submit images that are in their opinion, iconic images of Britain, however, entrants DO NOT submit their own images to this contest. Instead entrants must make use of a Live Search feature provided on the Microsoft Competition website.
Visitors to the website can either vote on images selected by other entrants, or use Live Search to search for images, and from the images supplied by Live Search, make a selection to submit to the contest. This is what the rules actually say –
“6. To be eligible to win a prize, Entrants must visit www.iconicbritain.co.uk (the “Website”) and either:
a) submit a vote by selecting one of the five emoticons (“Voting Entry); or
b) submit an image. To submit an image, perform a Live Search to find an image which represents Britain. Drag the image into the competition toolbar and click “Next”. Entrants must then give the image a name, select the appropriate category, give an explanation why the image represents Britain and click “Submit” (“Submission Entry”);
This completely baffles my mind. Perhaps the real prize is the payoff from the lawsuits of those whose work is infringed. All sarcasm aside I’m surprised that any company would open themselves up to this degree of risk. If you have photos of Britain that are found through Microsoft’s Live Search you may want to watch this one.
[tags]copyright, photography, Scott Kelby, Microsoft[/tags]
The fact that Nikon was a sponsor of the Iconic Britain contest but has withdrawn their support does speak volumes about just how badly flawed this approach is.
Scott Kelby’s sounds like a fair deal once you read the FAQ for clarification. Only the winning images would be eligible for future promotional use. I like his sarcasm.
Microsoft’s deal sounds like an ill-conceived attempt at promoting their search engine.
@Dave Exactly. I still scratch my head at the thought this even got off the ground.
@Richard Scott deserves a lot of credit and not just because of his humor.
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