European Focus Competition, Focus on Risk Prevention; closing date 31 August 2011
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
All participants must agree to the subsequent rights-free use of their photo material by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and its network of Focal Points and partners in Europe.
The above is all that the competition rules have to say regarding usage of entrants photographs. Pro-Imaging wrote on behalf the Artists' Bill of Rights campaign to persuade the European Agency for Safety & Health at Work (EA-OSHA) to adopt the principles set out in the Artists' Bill of Rights summary (which we enclosed) and to update the rules of the competition accordingly. We also invited EU-OSHA to become an Artists' Bill of Rights supporter.
We received the following response from Andrew Smith, the Head of Communications & Promotions Unit of the European Agency for Safety & Health at Work -
We thank you for your email and your interest in the EU-OSHA Photo Competition.
While of course we appreciate your concerns, we do not agree that the competition rules are unfair to entrants. Having read the principles outlined in the Artists' Bill of Rights, we feel that the competition - and our intended use of any submissions - is in keeping with the ethos of the bill.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is committed to providing employers and workers alike with information to address workplace safety and health issues effectively, regardless of the size of the enterprise or sector of activity. Given our responsibility as the main EU Reference point for safety and health at work - and accordingly our sensitivity to worker issues - we would neither encourage nor endorse any activity that we felt was unethical or undermined this position.
The competition is organised within the framework of the Agency's Healthy Workplaces Campaign, a two-year Pan-European campaign to highlight the importance of good safety and health in the workplace. The competition itself aims to support the agency in this awareness raising task by engaging both with members of the general public and creative community, offering a large-scale competition that is open to photographers both professional and amateur, and it is free to enter.
Both the campaign and photo competition will culminate with a high-profile Closing Event to be held in Bilbao in November, where the four prize-winners of the Photo Competition will be invited by EU-OSHA to be presented with their cash reward and trophy in the presence of high representatives of European Institutions, thus acknowledging the contribution of the photographers.
Moreover, the Closing Event provides the opportunity for the top 12-entries of the Competition to be exhibited to the OSH community and official supporters of EU-OSHA's campaign. Part of the reward for the top 12 entrants will be to see their work reproduced in official calendars and exhibition materials which will be distributed via EU-OSHA's network of Focal Points, with the sole purpose of raising awareness of occupational safety and health topics. As the selected photos will be fully-credited, we have found that such a platform and the opportunity for pan-European recognition is an attractive prospect for potential entrants to the competition.
Though we do ask potential entrants to grant right-free use of photo material, we are clear and transparent in that any such use is for not-for-profit purposes, and in the interest of raising awareness of vital health and safety issues in an imaginative way. We feel that this is generous recompence for those photos (a small percentage of total entrants) which are eventually used.
Nonetheless, we will endeavour to clarify these conditions further in any future edition of the competition. We hope that this helps to answer your concerns, but remain at your disposal if you require any further clarification or information.
The above letter at least makes clear that all usage of entrants photographs will be credited, which is something that the rules omit to say.
However, we dispute the assertion by EU-OSHA that the rules are within the ethos of the Artists' Bill of Rights. EU-OSHA are apparently under the impression that because the images are being used on a 'not for profit' basis they have the right to use the images as they wish. There is no difference between a private company or a public authority with regard to how the public's intellectual property rights should be treated.
In the former case the private company is funded by shareholders (i.e. the public) and in the later case by the authorities citizens (i.e. the public). Neither type of organisation has any moral right to acquire intellectual property from the public through rules which many will fail to understand. Also, acquiring IP rights in this way 'educates' the public into placing no or little value on their creativity, nor to assist them in understanding its purpose, and arguably leading to a general disrespect for copyright amongst the public, a situation now causing widespread concern amongst the world's creative community.
Publicly funded authorities should be leading the way in promoting respect for intellectual property rights amongst their citizens. If they wish to use entrants' images for any purpose other than promoting the competition the ethical thing to do is to approach the entrant to seek permission and agree usage terms. We will again write to OSHA and seek to persuade them of the benefits of supporting respects for artists rights, where the term artist is inclusive of everyone. If any further responses are received will publish them here.
HOW THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS WILL AFFECT YOU
The following notes explain how the above terms and conditions affect your rights in respect of any works you submit to the above competition or appeal.
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The terms and conditions do not state you will always be credited when your work is reproduced. However the letter from EU-OSHA indicates that you will be credited. One of your most important moral rights is that you should be credited as the author of a work whenever it is reproduced.
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The terms and conditions are granting the organiser unlimited use of your work for ever. For non-winning works a usage time limit of 3 years or less should be set with usage limited solely to promoting the competition or appeal. It is permissable to use winning works for ever but only in a permanent winners gallery with the sole purpose of promoting a recurring competition or appeal.
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The terms and conditions grant the organiser the right to use your work beyond that needed to promote the competition or appeal. Your work will be used for other purposes. Usage of your work should be restricted solely to promoting the competition or appeal. If the organisation wishes to use your work for any other purpose they should negotiate with you independently of the competition. You should have the right to negotiate an appropriate fee for the specific use they want to make of your work and to set a time limit on such use. You should also have the right to refuse use of your work. For further information on fees and licensing refer to the Introduction to Rights and Licensing.
The above may help you to decide not to submit any works to this competition or appeal. For further guidance please read the Bill of Rights for Artists.
SPONSORS
None
CONTACT
To complain send an email to Monica Azaola at the Communication and Promotion Unit of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work using this email address
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
, indicate that your email is for the attention of Andrew Smith, Head of the Communication and Promotion Unit, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.
You can help the Bill of Rights campaign by complaining to the organiser urging them to change their terms and conditions. If time is at a premium for you we have prepared a complaint email which you can copy and send to the organiser. However, we hope you write a personal email, it will be more effective.
The Bill of Rights campaign depends on your active support, your help will make a difference.
Updated on 22 August 2011
Wikipedia
Competitions or appeals seeking submissions of creative works from the public, works such as photos, videos, poems, music, etc., are reviewed by the Bill of Rights campaign. The reviews are to help you decide whether you should participate in the competition or appeal. The only thing you need to understand is that when you create a work (e.g. a photo) the law automatically makes you the sole beneficiary of certain rights over that work (but see note 1 below). These rights are called intellectual property rights.
