As creators, we usually focus on just that: creating works that help us relate to ourselves, others, or the world around us. Unfortunately for some, this means creation takes precedence over some other task.
Copyright business
A photography business is a business. You must know how to run a business, including handling inherent financial and administrative duties. Especially earlier in your career, before you had a network of people helping you, this would mean wearing a lot of hats.
One of those areas of focus is knowing at least the basics of copyright law at the national and international level. Of course, this is a huge task, and usually, attorneys specialize only in copyright law, but knowing the basics of who owns what is important. In Australia, for example, the author of a work owns the work. This means any images I create, own, and can profit from if I have the appropriate releases, such as a model release or an attribute release if a model or certain position shown in the image. These rules also differ for commercial and artistic use.
My bottom line here is to at least know the basics of what you own and why it’s important to own your image.
Commodity Making Contest
Adobe is generally ad-supported and generally does a pretty good job of providing resources and opportunities for advertising. Putting your work in contests is a great way to be seen by the right people; I personally have benefited from participating in state and national competitions. Showcasing your work at some of these galleries has resulted in sales, as well as other opportunities for me, and you might as well benefit from it.
But I was very disappointed by Adobe.’s recent contest Rule. Even if you win first place, the $10,000 top prize, you’ve given up the copyright. This may be okay for some people, but you also give up the copyright if you lose it.
Using entries: For the avoidance of doubt, Sponsor will own all rights, title and interest to and to the First and Grand Prize Winning Entries. Each Participant (unless First Prize or First Winner) retains ownership of their Entries. Each Participant hereby grants Sponsor, Billie Eilish, and their affiliates and designated agents a non-exclusive, transferable, perpetual, irrevocable license , royalty-free, unconditional, paid in full and the right to post and perform, performed, used, copied, reproduced, modified and created derivative works from any material by any person entries provided with the Entrant’s Entry or through the Contest (“Contest Materials”), (b) for public performance or display, import, broadcast or transmission, distribution (live and indirectly) license, offer to sell and sell, rent, lease or lend copies of the materials (and derivative works thereof) and use them for any lawful purpose, including including advertising and commercial purposes, and (c) sublicensing to third parties the above rights, including the right to sublicense to other third parties. This License expressly includes the right (but not the obligation) to Sponsor to modify the Entries to remove any third party intellectual property. In addition, each entrant agrees to use their name, statement, photograph, video, voice recording, and similar image appearing in the Contest Materials for publicity purposes, as well as any any other purpose in connection with the Contest.
After the Entries are entered into the Contest, any such posting will be deemed made at the direction of the entrant within the meaning of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Regulations Act. in communication. ALL REPRESENTATIVES, UNDERSTANDING AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS THAT THEY WILL NOT BE PAYED OR RECEIVED ANY KIND OF COMPENSATION OR ANY KIND OF TAX OR ANYTHING (other than the above mentioned WINS) USE OF THIS IMPORT OF SPONSOR. If required, the entrant will sign any documents that may be required to Sponsor or designees to use the non-exclusive right that the entrant will grant to use the Entries.
This sucks because it means you lose out on the benefits of your hard work in any way. If you win, you lose, and if you lose, you lose.
I wasn’t nervous enough, or maybe I was, but I realized Billie Eilish didn’t sit there and write down these rules. But they weren’t written by someone whose best interest was a creative contribution. What hurts the most is that something like this happens two years into a pandemic when advertisers are struggling the most.
My intention is not to attack Eilish, her team, or even Adobe, but to emphasize that these competition rules do matter. Hopefully, in a small way, those who are considering entering will reconsider. Or perhaps in some way, I hope this article will convince the organizers to amend the contest rules in favor of the creatives.
