22 March

Cliftons Art Prize 2013

Arts Law maintains an ongoing watch advocating fair and transparent contractual terms for competitions and prizes and is highly critical of terms which unnecessarily deprive artists of rights in their own work.  Arts Law often contacts competition organisers urging them to amend their terms and conditions to be fairer to entrants, especially where copyright and moral rights are affected.

The competitions are rated based on a review of the terms and conditions which relate to the entrant’s copyright and moral rights. Read more about the rating system here.

By accepting the terms and conditions of a competition, artists should be aware that they are entering a legally binding contract. For more information on competition conditions see our free information sheet here.

We also invite competition organisers to contact Arts Law for best practice assistance on making their terms and conditions fairer for artists.

The Cliftons Art Prize 2013 received 3 / 5 stars for fairness to artists. Unfortunately, the prize only recieved 3 / 5 stars  because its terms are a bit confusing and appear to be overly onerous. The Prize states that finalists authorise Cliftons to publish their artwork “free of copyright”, totally or partly, in all publications related to the Prize.  It is unclear whether Cliftons is asking for an assignment of the finalists' copyright in the artworks, which would be extremely excessive, or a non-exclusive licence, which would be more reasonable. Cliftons is also asking that finalists agree to a potential infringement of their moral right of integrity by authorising Cliftons to publish only “part” of their artwork if they so desire e.g. reproduce only half the artwork in a flyer promoting the Prize. Finally, all entrants provide Cliftons with what appears to be a non-exclusive licence to reproduce their artworks for promotions, media, advertising and announcements relating to the Prize.  However, what type of licence entrants are giving to Cliftons is not entirely clear. Before entering the Cliftons Art Prize, artists should consider contacting Cliftons for clarification of the terms and conditions of entry.  

Entries for this competition close on 2 April 2013.

 

Further information

Please email us at [email protected] to tell us about any competitions or prizes you think we should check. 

See Arts Law's competition star rating system for further information or call Arts Law if you would like to receive best practice advice regarding your competition terms and conditions.

See more about Arts Law's campaign to improve competition terms and conditions in the Prizes and Competitions section.