10 December

Arts Law checks the terms of competitions closing in January 2014

Arts Law has reviewed and rated the terms and conditions of 11 competitions closing in January 2014.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Toowoomba Repertory Theatre Society on the terms of its Carnival of Flowers One-Act Playwriting Competition 2014, which has received a perfect score of 5 / 5 stars for fairness to artists.  The competition requests a limited licence for a limited term from finalists only, agrees to positively attribute the playwrights and states that any minor changes to the material for the purposes of staging the plays require the permission of the playwright. 

CONGRATULATIONS!

  • Carnival of Flowers One-Act Playwriting Competition 2014 – deadline 31 January 2014

3 competitions received a very positive 4 / 5 stars for their terms and conditions.  The 2014 Sony World Photography Awards ask all entrants to provide a licence for only 3 years to reproduce works submitted for uses associated with the competition.  The competition will also positively credit any photographs used.  If this licence had been limited to finalists/winners only, the competition would have received 5 / 5 stars!  In contrast the Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2014 and the 38th Alice Prize 2014 ask for a licence to reproduce works in association with the relevant competition from finalists/exhibitors only, but do not limit the duration of this licence.  If they had done so, and clearly stated they would attribute the artists, 5 / 5 stars would have been awarded!

WELL DONE

  • 2014 Sony World Photography Awards – deadline 1 January 2014
  • Adelaide Perry Prize for Drawing 2014 – deadline 17 January 2014
  • 38th Alice Prize 2014 – deadline 31 January 2014

5 competitions received a respectable 3 / 5 stars for fairness.  Sculpture on the Edge 2014, the Glover Prize 2014, Cambridge Studio Gallery 2014 Portrait Prize and the International Composition Award “Cuidad de Orihuela” for string orchestras only ask for a licence to reproduce works from winners/finalists/exhibitors, which is great.  However, the extent of the licences relating to use of the works are quite broad and are not limited in duration.  If the licences were limited in duration, limited to uses associated with the competition only and contained a positive intention to attribute the entrants, these competitions would have received 5 / 5 stars.  In contrast the Bald Archy Prize 2014 requests a licence from all entrants to reproduce their work for an unlimited period of time, but for limited uses associated with the promotion of the competition only.  If this competition had restricted the licence to exhibited artists only, limited the duration of the licence and included a positive intention to attribute the artists, it too would have received 5 / 5 stars.

NOT FAR OFF

  • Sculpture on the Edge – deadline 10 January 2014
  • Glover Prize 2014 – deadline 24 January 2014
  • Bald Archy Prize 2014 – deadline 27 January 2014
  • Cambridge Studio Gallery 2014 Portrait Prize – deadline 31 January 2014
  • International Composition Award “Ciudad de Orihuela” for string orchestras – deadline 31 January 2014

2 competitions received 2 / 5 stars.  The terms of Clique Photographers Association 2014 inaugural program and the Australian Photography + Digital magazine photo website monthly competition ask that all entrants grant to the competition organisers a licence to reproduce the entries for very broad purposes and with no restriction to the duration of the licence.  Arts Law would argue that such broad licences are unlikely to be necessary to achieve the competition organisers’ desired outcomes, especially as it is unlikely a competition will still want to reproduce general entries after a reasonable period of time has passed e.g. 5 years.  We would suggest both competitions consider limiting the uses and duration of the licences they request from entrants to only that which they reasonably require to achieve continued success with their competitions.

SOME WORK TO DO

  • Clique Photographers Association 2014 inaugural program – commences 28 January 2014
  • Australian Photography + Digital magazine photo website monthly competition – ongoing

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 systemfor 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 Competitionssection.