Category: Random

Photography banned in downtown Silver Spring, MD, US

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

A fellow named Jordan writes via Boing Boing:

Security guards in a Silver Springs business district are enforcing a "no photography" policy, under the false claim that the street in question is private property. The Peterson Company, which manages the buildings on this DC-area street, claims the right to protect their brand. Not to be dissuaded, photographers have contacted NowPublic contributor Bill Adler (he of sippy-cup fame) and formed a Flickr group to post photos of the area in defiance of the ban, and a protest is being scheduled by area photographers. this is the latest in the ongoing trend of private guards enforcing frivolous or nonexistent laws in the name of "security".

Read article at NowPublic

Microsoft fix rights-grabbing terms in student photographer contest!

Nicolai Grossman 3 Comments

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.)

J and C Photo close up shop

Nicolai Grossman Leave a comment

Black and white photography supplier J and C Photo report in their updates page that they are going out of business:

Dear Customers,

Over the last few months while we have diligently tried to move and reorganize our operation’s in order to overcome major stumbling blocks which have come our way, we now find ourselves in an untenable position. While we thought we had overcome the major obstacles, recent events have now changed things once again. Threats of frivolous law suits, the expense involved in defending against them and suppliers unilaterally deciding to nullify contracts and do business with competitors have made it impossible to come back as planned. We therefore regrettably have decided it’s better to exit than continue to fight a battle that cannot be won.

We will not be re-opening our retail operation and wish all of our former customers the best.

We will continue to work the ULF and T-Max deals on a custom basis.

All T-Max orders already placed are still valid.

We would like to publicly thank Ilford and Kodak for their continued support during these difficult times.

JandC Photo

This is sad indeed.

Microsoft rights grab in student photographer contest

Nicolai Grossman 3 Comments

By entering work in the Microsoft Future Pro Photographer Photo Contest, you give them all rights to it. Not even by winning, just by entering. They’ve done it in a really sleazy way, too.

The contest FAQ says:

Does Microsoft own the rights to images submitted to the contest?

As an entrant, you retain the copyright ownership of the images you submit. Submitting an entry does not assign or transfer any ownership or copyrights to Microsoft; those rights remain with the creator of the original work. However as a condition of accepting a prize, you agree to grant Microsoft the right to reproduce and display the image, credited with your first and last name, in print and on the web, for the purposes of promoting this contest.

These sound like perfectly reasonable, maybe ideal, terms to me: they only take the rights they need to make the contest work, and they even guarantee a photo credit. Too bad it turns out to be a lie—the the actual submission guidelines and official rules tell a very different story:

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.

Don’t bend over for these clowns, Microsoft neither needs nor deserves your charity. And always read the fine print.