9 September

Arts Law Reviews the Terms of Competitions Closing in September 2014

Arts Law has rated the terms and conditions of 16 competitions closing in September 2014 out of 5 stars. These ratings are 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.

4  competitions  were awarded an encouraging 4 / 5 stars for fairness to artists! Under the terms and conditions of these competitions, the organiser is asking finalists or exhibited entries (rather than all entrants) for a licence to reproduce the work for the limited purpose of promoting the competition. If the competition organisers had set a clear end date for how long they want permission to reproduce the work and made a positive undertaking to attribute the artists, they would have received a perfect score of 5 / 5 stars for fairness.

WELL DONE:

·         Rotary Club of Werribee Art Show – deadline 15 September 2014

·         Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize – deadline 16 September 2014

·         Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize Student K-12 – deadline 16 September 2014

·         Tom Howard/Margaret/Margaret Reid Poetry Contest – deadline 30 September 2014

 

4 competitions received a respectable 3 / 5 stars for fairness to artists. Under these terms and conditions, all entrants are asked to provide a licence to the competition organiser to reproduce their works for purposes associated with the prize. Unfortunately, none of the competitions set a limit to the duration of the licences requested from the entrants. If these competitions had done so, and respectively limited their licences to finalists or winners, plus each undertook to attribute the artists where the work is reproduced, they would have all received 5 / 5 stars.

NOT FAR OFF:

·         Sculptures in the Garden – deadline 12 September 2014

·         Albert Park College Art Show – deadline 15 September 2014

·         Linden Postcard Show – deadline 19 September 2014

·         ACMF National Songwriting Competition – deadline 29 September 2014

 

8 competitions scored 2 / 5 stars. Many of thesecompetitions ask that all entrants grant the competition organisers permission to reproduce the entries for broad purposes beyond the scope of promotion for the competition. Some even ask entrants to permit third parties, such as major sponsors, to reproduce the entry for very broad purposes at their discretion. These sorts of commercial uses would usually attract a licence fee for the artist. Best practice would be for these licences to be limited to finalists/exhibitors only, limited in use so the entries are only reproduced in connection with the promotion of the competition, set a clear time limit to how long organisers can reproduce entries and make a positive undertaking to attribute the artists.

SOME WORK TO DO:

·         ANL Maritime Art Prize & Exhibition – deadline 5 September 2014

·         Kenilworth Art Prize – deadline 12 September 2014

·         Toyota Community Spirit Gallery Sculpture – deadline 15 September 2014

·         John Copes Portrait Prize – deadline 17 September 2014

·         Tasmanian Art Award at Eskleigh – deadline 20 September 2014

·         Graeme Hildebrand Art Scholarship and Travel Grant – deadline 20 September 2014

·         Arts Wodonga Acquisitive Art Award – deadline 26 September 2014

·         HeartActually – deadline 30 September 2014

 

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.