30 September

October competitions checked by Arts Law

 

Arts Law has checked the terms of 11 competitions closing in October 2014 and rated each of them 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.

3 competitions were awarded 4 / 5 stars for fairness to artists. The National One-Act Playwriting Competition and the Gold Coast Art Prize only ask finalists or exhibitors, rather than all entrants, for a licence to reproduce their work for limited purposes associated with the promotion of the competition. The Hornsby Art Prize organisers ask all entrants for permission to reproduce the work but clearly limit the duration of the licences to three years and make a positive undertaking to acknowledge the artist.

WELL DONE:

·         National One-Act Playwriting Competition 2014 – deadline 1 October 2014

·         Hornsby Art Prize – deadline 3 October 2014

·         Gold Coast Art Prize – deadline 3 October 2014

 

3 competitions received 3 / 5 stars for fairness to artists.  The terms and conditions of these competitions require that entrants provide the competition organisers with a non-exclusive licence to reproduce their work for limited purposes associated with the competition, but with no limit to the duration of the licence.  To achieve a perfect rating, these licences should be limited to finalists or exhibitors and limited in duration e.g. 2 years. Both the Travel Photographer of the Year and Greenway Art Prize get a  special mention for clearly stating they will attribute the photographer, which is great! 

NOT FAR OFF:

·         Travel Photographer of the Year 2014 – deadline 1 October 2014

·         Greenway Art Prize – deadline 10 October 2014

·         Art Toppling Tobacco Competition – deadline 14 October 2014

4 competitions scored 2 / 5 stars for fairness to artists.  The competition organisers ask all entrants to grant a non-exclusive licence to reproduce their work for broad purposes beyond promotion of the competition for an unlimited period of time.  Best practice would be for these licences to be limited to finalists/exhibitors, limited in uses, limited in duration and create a positive intention to attribute the artists.

COULD BE BETTER:

·         Sculpture at Scenic World – deadline 20 October 2014

·         Montalto Sculpture Prize – deadline 31 October 2014

·         North Sydney Art Prize – deadline 31 October 2014

·         Belle Arti Prize – deadline 31 October 2014

 

Arts Law was unable to rate the Draw on the Mountain Sketchbook Trail Competition as its terms and conditions do not specifically mention the licensing of entrants copyright or the moral rights of entrants.  This suggests the competition does not want to reproduce entrants works for promotion of the art show or has not thought about the licence they will need from entrants to reproduce their work for this purpose (for example, on the competition website or the competition entry form).  Arts Law encourages the competition organisers to clarify its terms in this regard:

·         Draw on the Mountain Sketchbook Trail competition – deadline 4 October 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.