Seems to me that Rich is right - these words appear to only have the effect of giving NGS the right to use them image for any editorial purpose they may have. I note, however, that it is not an explicit transfer of copyright, nor does it state any limitations on the rights that the maker may retain. Based on some actual experience with copyright transfers, I would expect that there would have to be a written agreement that must be signed by the maker in which he acknowledges that the copyright has been transferred. As always, ain't a lawyer and don't play one on TV - - - and certainly not on the internet! -----Original Message----- From: owner-photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rich Mason Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 3:59 PM To: List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students Subject: Re: Photo contests and copyrights On Mar 6, 2006, at 12:58 PM, Emily L. Ferguson wrote: > Unlimited usage rights is the functionally the same as signing over > copyright. You compete with Nat'l Geo to license your image to > other users. > > Nat'l Geo liecenses its own images as stock, just like the lone > photographer. Who do you think the client is going to go to when > they see a pic in a Nat'l Geo and decide they want to use it? > > Not the photographer. > > Unlimited usage is just that - they can use it any way they like as > many times as they please. > -- > Emily L. Ferguson > mailto:elf@xxxxxxxx > 508-563-6822 > New England landscapes, wooden boats and races, press photography > http://www.vsu.cape.com/~elf/ > I'm replying to this thread in general, not singling any post out. Let's look at what it actually says in the contest rules: "...you grant to National Geographic Society and its subsidiaries and licensees (the "NGS") a royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to display, distribute and reproduce the Photograph, in whole or in part, in any medium now existing or subsequently developed for editorial purposes without further review or participation from you." Note that it says, "for editorial purposes." That means they can't use the photograph for advertising or other commercial purposes. They can't make prints or posters for sale from it, nor may they sell or license the usage of the photograph to a third party for commercial purposes, including stock usage. They cannot sell any rights to the picture because that's not an editorial usage. They could, however, use it in all of their hard copy publications, Websites or CD and DVD products, as long as the usage is editorial. Cheers, Rich http://richmason.com
