The rights-grabbing terms in Microsoft’s Future Pro Photographer Photo Contest that I previously posted about have been changed!
The old, abusive clause has been changed from
5. ENTRIES PROPERTY OF SPONSOR.
All Entries become the property of Sponsor and Administrators and will not be returned. By submitting your Entry, you grant Sponsor and Administrators an irrevocable royalty-free, worldwide right, in all media (now known or later developed) to use, publish, alter or otherwise exploit your Entry. You hereby forever release the Sponsor and Administrators from any and all claims you might have in connection with their use and exhibit of your Entry as set forth above. You also agree to sign any necessary documentation to effectuate that license and release. If you do not want to grant Sponsor and Administrators the foregoing, please do not enter the Contest.
to the very model of reason and fairness:
5. Rights to Use Entries.
As a condition of accepting a prize, you agree to grant Microsoft an irrevocable royalty-free worldwide license to reproduce and display the image, credited with your first and last name, in print and on the web for the purposes of only promoting this contest.
These terms take only what’s necessary to reasonably manage the contest, and it guarantees a photo credit. I never thought I’d hand it to Microsoft, but well done. (Of course the original all-your-rights-are-belong-to-us terms should have never, ever been out there in the first place, but they sorted it out quickly.)
Good for them. And there’s an huge contrast between the way the first and second versions read, too. It’s like they distracted the lawyers just long enough to sneak in a sensible policy written in plain English.
Hah, yeah! Again, you don’t need complicated terms to protect either party. This is straight to the point and easy to understand.