It’s come to my attention that the National Geographic International Photography Contest 2008 is now making entrants photographs available as downloadable wallpaper. This concerned fellow friend and photographer Don Hall enough to email those running the contest to withdraw his entries. The concern as put by Don in his note to National Geographic…
“Free distribution of your entries, probably the best from a particular photographer, undermines their efforts to control their distribution and takes away potential income.”
Select photographs submitted each week are made available for download as wallpaper in three sizes 800 x 600, 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 960. Upon further inspection each image does have a watermark stating the photographers name, a copyright statement reserving all rights for the photographer, the title of the photo contest, the week of submission and the url of the contest site.
The Terms of Use / Contest Rules have a very broad License section:
5. License
By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable perpetual, nonexclusive license to Authorized Parties, to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: display at a potential exhibition of winners; publication of a book featuring select entries in the Contest; publication in National Geographic magazine or online highlighting entries or winners of the Contest. Entrants consent to the Sponsor doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe the entrant’s “moral rights” in their entries. Display or publication of any entry on an Authorized Party’s website does not indicate the entrant will be selected as a winner. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use. Additionally, by entering, each entrant grants to Authorized Parties the unrestricted right to use all statements made in connection with the Contest, and pictures or likenesses of Contest entrants, or choose not to do so, at their sole discretion. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use.
The Contest FAQ also states:
Will my photography be seen online?
Selected entries and the entrants’ names may be published on ngm.com at the discretion of the National Geographic Society.
Will I be notified if my photo is chosen for the online galleries?
You will be notified only if you are a Grand Prize winner.
Strangely enough the Terms of Use / Rules and FAQ both go into great length about securing releases, but seem to disregard this in posting entrants photographs online as downloadable wallpaper not to mention only making note of notifying Grand Prize Winners if work is placed online.
The use of photographs submitted seems to be a very flawed, but as the Terms of Use / Rules are written National Geographic has very carefully insulated themselves so as to do whatever they like with submitted entries. The net result of this could be construed as National Geographic taking advantage of unsuspecting photographers who may not have fully read or fully understood the Terms of Use.
I’ve not seen this particular contest on the Pro-Imaging.org Competition Rights Off List, but I’d imagine it will soon be added. No matter how trustworthy the organization you’re submitting your images to it is essential that you read the fine print of the Terms of Use and Contest Rules. If you feel for any reason that the terms of the contest are too broad for you and your on going photographic efforts then it is best to refrain from entering. Open ended terms result in unpleasant surprises. It will be interesting to see if concerned photographers speak up loudly enough to get National Geographic to alter their terms.
[tags]photography, contest, rights, copyright, National Geographic International Photography Contest 2008, National Geographic[/tags]
Thanks for this update. I have submitted a couple of pictures for this contest as well, need to take a call on them
Thanks for the warning Jim.
I just find weird that a company like National Geographic, that better than any other knows the effort and dedication photographers put in their work, would so blatantly do something like this.
These so called “contests” are more and more prevalent. The latest from Smithsonian has almost identical T&C’s…
Hi interesting article, its a great inspiration for my own work…
thanks for the warning.
cheers Jim
http://www.takemyphotograph.com
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Perhaps you should have read the terms and rules before submitting your work. I am hearing the voices of those who wish to have their cake and eat it too. It seems to me that if you are so certain that your work is going to garner you a source of income then you do not need the opportunity for the gratification of being selected as best. There are only so many submissions allowed, so not that many photos to give. Lao-tzu, the founder of Taoism, is quoted as saying “Seek not happiness too greedily, and be not fearful of happiness.” Choose a path, the possible honor of being selected BEST by one of the greatest photographic magazines in the world, or your pocket. Those of you who choose the pocket, so be it! More chance for honor and recognition for the rest of us!
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