Yes there is a 2019 Audubon photography contest that ends April 8 2019. First place is $5000 and the entry fee is $15.
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it. But the fine print as they say shows that even if you are not a winner that by simply submitting an entry that you give up all rights of your photo worldwide with no further compensation.
Here is the quote;
"By submitting a Photograph to the 2019 Audubon Photography Awards Contest, you agree to the following:
You irrevocably grant to each Audubon and Nature’s Best Photography a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use the Photograph in any manner related to the Contest, including all associated use, reproduction, distribution, sublicense, derivative works, and commercial and non-commercial exploitation rights in any and all media now known or hereafter invented, including, but not limited to: a) Audubon Magazine and all Audubon websites and blogs related to the Contest; b) Nature’s Best Photography magazine and Nature’s Best Photography websites and blogs related to the Contest; c) any slideshows, brochures, newsletters, articles, reports, calendars and publications related to the Contest; c) solicitations for the Contest; d) promotions and communications related to the Contest; and e) physical and digital galleries and exhibitions of Submissions, including, but not limited to, exhibitions of Contest Submissions and/or Prize winners at the Smithsonian Institution, or at Audubon offices, centers and sanctuaries.
Just my opinioin but this is fowl. It’s hard enough to sell a photo let alone give them the photo AND pay them 15 bucks and if you don’t win, they DO! They will have countless new photos of birds for the multitude of magazines and field guides etc. and have to pay nothing for them.
If I’m wrong my deepest apologies to this famous bird and conservation group.
I quit submitting images to these “contests” long ago due to the requirement to give up all rights to your images. The “contest” administrator gets a lot of decent images at very low cost this way.
To me this is pretty standard fare these days… the key phrase being “related to the Contest.” Even Wildlife Photographer of the Year has the same rules, I believe. I’ve contacted Nature’s Best in the past about the usage stipulation for one of their contests and they did clarify that it’s solely related to contest promotion, not general usage for non-related publications (e.g., field guides).
Each one of us has to decide where we draw the line. I’m often a stickler for retaining rights and licensing, but in this case as long as they are not using the images outside of promotion for the contest itself, I can accept it. Of course, there are many other contests whose usage rules are much broader, and they pretty much use their contests to get a bunch of free images they can use or relicense for their publications or other projects. But I don’t believe Nature’s Best operates this way.
Of course, it’s also important to keep an eye on these publications if you do grant usage. National Wildlife Federation took a peer’s images from a contest and used them outside of the boundaries set forth by the contest rules, so she had to pursue compensation. On the other hand, the same people contacted me years after a contest submission to offer a paid image license for their magazine.
This topic serves as a great reminder to always read contest rules and contact the organizers if you have any questions about image rights before submitting.
I posted this NOT to create a back and forth “discussion” on the legal interpretation but create awareness. I hope it has done that. I am NOT an attorney but the phrase that caught my eye was “Including but not limited to”. And Max is right in that everything mentioned prior to these 5 words referenced the contest. Uses mentioned after this quote did not.
I think Max got it straight on. Read the “entire” material regarding submissions and everyone will have to make a determination on their own what to do.
You consent to give them, for free, a lifetime license to use your photo any way they wish. What BS !
USE OF ENTRY:
By submitting an entry, entrant grants the Sponsors and their designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use the entry and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes in Sponsors’ online galleries, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law. In addition, each winner grants to the Sponsors and their designees an irrevocable, royalty-free, nonexclusive, worldwide perpetual license to use and distribute the entry (as submitted, or as cropped by the Sponsors), and his/her name, city and state of residence for credit purposes, in any and all media now or hereafter known, including without limitation in Digital Photo, and any Madavor Media magazines for purposes of promotion of this Contest except as otherwise stated herein, without further compensation, notification or permission, unless prohibited by law.