Growing threat of image rights grabs

Photographers have to be aware of possible misuse of their images. Nowadays there is a growing threat of image rights grabs , mainly from competitions organised by magazines and book publishers.The scenario is straightforward. A photo competiton is announced with the winner getting published in a book or magazine. However if you read the small print a different story emerges. Chris Barton wrote on his blog about a Great British Life competition . The small print reveals “”By submitting any material to Archant, You automatically grant Archant the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, edit, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such material (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in such content.”The BBC , Sky and other television companies have done a similar thing with their requests to viewers for their pictures of news events. If you send them a picture you are also giving them the right to publish it wherever they want without any payment .