Canadian magazine Dogs in Canada is involved in a rights-grabbing scam disguised as a “photo contest”. Sadly, Nikon is the contest sponsor. Contest Rule #4 states:
4. All entries become the property of Dogs in Canada; entry constitutes permission to use the photo(s) in any manner the Publisher chooses.
While sponsors of a photo contest might not be aware of, nor even care about, the contest rules, a sponsor such as Nikon should demand that any contest it sponsors not be a copyright grab or an excuse to get free photos. Nikon and any other photo manufacturer that gets involved with these types of “photo contests” should be very embarrassed and ashamed.
A sister publication, Cats in Canada, is also running the same scam. Its rules state:
5. Entries will not be returned, and become the property of Apex Publishing Ltd. Entry constitutes permission to use the photo(s) in any manner the Publisher chooses.
Thankfully, no photo manufacturer is sponsoring this mess.
Only amateurs are allowed to enter these contests because only amateurs are easily suckered.
Since Apex Publishing, which owns both magazines, is fully-versed in copyright issues, as evidenced by the copyright notices on its site and the multiple copyright statements on its Terms of Service page, there’s no excuse.
Here’s a couple more:
www.icebergphotos.ca/Rules.aspx – I emailed them and was told the rights grab was because the offer the photos to kids for school projects.
www.ontarioparks.com/engli…rules.html – This one’s a few years old, but I sent an email about it at the time and received the usual “everyone’s thrilled to see their photos in print” response.