Posted by John W. Wall on December 29, 2006 at 11:30 AM
I was just checking out the procedure for sending a photo to National Geographic's "Your Shot" page, thinking it would be fun to submit something, but then I read the rules:
"...and 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."
Everyone wants a free lunch, especially those who can afford to buy their own!
-PB
Posted by Anil Rao on December 29, 2006 at 7:58 PM
John,
I really don't see a problem with this, especially if 1) they have spelt out the rules very clearly (which it seems like they did) and 2) it is not an exclusive arrangement, i.e. you can still do what you want with the image (sell it to others, submit to other publications, etc.). Its a "Your Shot" category after all and not a big deal.
Posted by Lon Overacker on December 29, 2006 at 11:31 PM
This is the old catch-22. Companies will use this to get a whole bunch of images for free - this is assuming of course that all entries are subject to the rules, not just the winner.
OTOH, the winner and/or runner-ups would have quite a feather in their cap. Who knows what kind of mileage might be gained by being published by the premiere photographic institue in the world (in terms of famous publications anyway.) And as Anil mentioned, you most likely retain all original rights to the image.
On a side note, I have had some images published in a similar fashion. I happen to work for HP and there are monthly photo contests for employees. I've been fortunate to win a couple of HP digital cameras and have been published a number of times, internally, including a shot in a calendar. However, the same thing applied... by entering and winning, rights were granted to HP to do whatever they wanted to with the image (including the calendar, which I was not paid for.) But to the point I mentioned about mileage.... the Imaging and Printing division gave me a call and wanted to use one of my images for demo printing - you know, when you go to BestBuy (or wherever) and hit the demo button for a sample print... I don't know if it ever got used, but the visibility, IMHO, more than made up for the lack of revenue I may have recieved if they had to pay for the image.
Having said all that, I don't make it a practice to give away my work. Pick your battles and opportunities.
Lon
Posted by Nelcha Cross on January 9, 2007 at 5:30 AM
I tend to agree with Lon....
I have had some images in calendars where they have Limited Rights and I get a few calendars,
but other than that....I don't give the useage away......
It takes me too much time & money & energy to get out there and make the images...
why should I give it away...unless it's a Charity I prefer to donate a print to??
Discussion
4 replies"...and 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."
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/yourshot/rules.html
So it's basically a photo contest where the prize is, well, nothing!
-PB
I really don't see a problem with this, especially if 1) they have spelt out the rules very clearly (which it seems like they did) and 2) it is not an exclusive arrangement, i.e. you can still do what you want with the image (sell it to others, submit to other publications, etc.). Its a "Your Shot" category after all and not a big deal.
OTOH, the winner and/or runner-ups would have quite a feather in their cap. Who knows what kind of mileage might be gained by being published by the premiere photographic institue in the world (in terms of famous publications anyway.) And as Anil mentioned, you most likely retain all original rights to the image.
On a side note, I have had some images published in a similar fashion. I happen to work for HP and there are monthly photo contests for employees. I've been fortunate to win a couple of HP digital cameras and have been published a number of times, internally, including a shot in a calendar. However, the same thing applied... by entering and winning, rights were granted to HP to do whatever they wanted to with the image (including the calendar, which I was not paid for.) But to the point I mentioned about mileage.... the Imaging and Printing division gave me a call and wanted to use one of my images for demo printing - you know, when you go to BestBuy (or wherever) and hit the demo button for a sample print... I don't know if it ever got used, but the visibility, IMHO, more than made up for the lack of revenue I may have recieved if they had to pay for the image.
Having said all that, I don't make it a practice to give away my work. Pick your battles and opportunities.
Lon
I have had some images in calendars where they have Limited Rights and I get a few calendars,
but other than that....I don't give the useage away......
It takes me too much time & money & energy to get out there and make the images...
why should I give it away...unless it's a Charity I prefer to donate a print to??
In gratitude,
Nelcha