In a world of cynical corporate rights-grabs, this JP Boden competition for under-14's is pretty much the noughties version of sending kids up chimneys. Boden, a large online and catalogue retailer of adult and childrens' clothes makes the prospect sound positively glamorous:
"This is your chance to step into the enviable shoes of a Boden photographer. Choose your location, cast your models, select their Mini Boden outfits and style the set. All that remains is to snap your entries and upload them here, and you could win £1000 of Boden credit. Your £5 entry fee will go directly to our chosen charity for 2009, Greenhouse, which makes the whole business a charitable good deed as well as exceedingly good fun."
The underage contestant, or more properly their parent or guardian, will likely fail to read or understand the terms behind this effusive grooming:
For any entry that you send us, you give JP Boden & Co Ltd the unrestricted right to use, copy, change, adapt, publish, translate and re-work your entry, free of any payment being made to you, with the option to transfer to a third party, sell, distribute the content, or combine it into any other form, medium or technology, with no compensation to you and for all time. The winner must agree to participate in any subsequent publicity from the competition. We will keep photographs secure. We reserve the right to use the photographs in an online gallery, but will not disclose the entrants names without parental/guardian consent. All entries become the property of Boden and will not be returned.
On its 'ethical pages' Boden boasts "As a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) we require our suppliers to commit to a Code of Conduct covering minimum standards relating to employment rights, working conditions and wages. To ensure that our ethical trading standards are being observed, we conduct our own programme of factory visits and commission independent auditors to carry out additional inspections on our behalf."
Quite why 14-year old photographers are fair game for having their labour and skill exploited without compensation, in exchange for a £5 donation to charity, is not explained. Can you spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y, children?
Boden have revised their terms. Their competitiion page now says:
"Our original terms and conditions caused a bit of a stir as some customers thought we were trying to pull a fast one with the photography rights. Please be assured that we were simply being overly protective of all involved, and that nothing untoward is going on. We've reworded them now, and hope all is much clearer and calmer."
Well, not really. The new terms, same as the old terms, but with added contradiction:
Which looks like someone has hastily added the last few lines without considering that they don't make a lot of sense in the context of the red 'for any entry that you send us' bits. Still, the new bits do at least have the virtue of being plain English rather than the paranoid churnings of a lawyer's mind at £50/word.
Look Boden, we appreciate you seem to be trying. So why not try something like this?:
That seems to give you all the rights you say you need, is perfectly fair and clear even to 14 year olds and should earn you Pro-Imaging Rights-On endorsement.
©A admin
Hi,
After reading the JP Boden post, I had to join and share my comments that I just sent to Steven Jones. This kind of rights grab is rampant here in the U.S. Every newspaper does it, the local Essex Heritage Foundation does it (in kahhoots with a camera store) and people just follow along like a bunch of Lemings, without a clue as to how they are being eploited. Here is my email to Steven Jones.
Dear Mr. Jones,
I've been a commercial photographer for over 25 years, and have been around the block a few times. I've just read about the 'Mini Boden' Photoshoot for kids, and frankly, I find your terms for use of the photographs horrendous. To exploit children in this manner is positively snake-in-the-grass low. This is nothing more than a blatant rights grab put together by another anal team of lawyers, and JP Boden should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.
Your comments in response to one email indicate to me that, either you don't have a clue what the terms actually mean, or are playing dumb and just towing the company line.
Example - one term of the contract says "with the option to transfer to a third party",
Your response was - "...I can assure you that it is certainly not our intention to sell on the images to third parties", "or to use the photographs in any way that is likely to denigrate or diminish the skills of the young photographers."
If that is what you mean, THEN SAY SO!
How about something like this to replace the "third party" malarky.
"For any entry that you send us, you give JP Boden & Co Ltd the unrestricted right to use, copy, change, adapt, publish, translate and re-work your entry, free of any payment being made to you, for the 'Mini Boden Photoshoot for kids project, only, and will not be used for any other purpose, whatsoever. The photographs submitted that are not among the winning entries will not be used for any purpose, whatsoever. The copyright to all submitted photographs shall remain the property of the photographer."
Finally, I find JP Boden extremely hypocritical when you compare the terms of the 'Mini Boden' Photoshoot for kids and the statement on the JP Boden ethical pages about the Ethical Trading Initiative. Where is JP Bodens ethics when it comes to ripping off 14 year olds??
Sincerely,
Greg Nikas
__________________________
GREG NIKAS PHOTOGRAPHY
978.465.7656 t
978.697.2195 c
978.462.4456 f
greg@gregnikas.com
www.gregnikas.com
I am astounded at the depths to which this company and others will stoop to deprive people, and in this case children, of what is rightfully their's for Boden's own financial gain. All this under the thinly disguised cloak of it being a fun competition to encourage the creative talents of youngsters!
The response from Mr Jones from Boden makes it crystal clear that they either have no understanding of what their T+C actually mean which is most unlikely, or are simply not bothered by the extremely bad publicity they are creating for themselves.
Boden should bring their competition rules into line with the standards set out by UK based Pro Imaging www.pro-imaging.org From the list of organisations supporting their standards, these are being adopted by many responsible competition organisers. Good work in bringing this appalling competition to the notice of the public.
They say the T & Cs are to ensure that images are exclusive to Boden – but they clearly fail to achieve that. Can't quite work out yet whether this is sinister or just stupid.
Have already emailed them and got what looks like exactly the same reply, albeit 'signed' by someone else. Think they might be rattled.
Jon
This competition has upset a lot of people, some of whom wasted no time in contacting Boden to express their displeasure. The replies are too full of corporate platitudes to bother to reproduce here in their entirety, but here are the key responses presented by Steve Jones, Internet Team Leader, Customer Services :
"...I can assure you that it is certainly not our intention to sell on the images to third parties"
The T&C take the right to "transfer to a third party".
"or to use the photographs in any way that is likely to denigrate or diminish the skills of the young photographers."
The T&C gratuitously take extensive rights in all entries
"We simply intended to protect ourselves, so winning images are exclusive to Boden and are not used in any other way that could damage us, as a company."
The T&C needlessly take far more extensive rights in all entries, not just winning entries. Why not simply stipulate "winning entries may not be published elsewhere without permission" if that's what Boden mean?
"The photographs submitted that are not among the winning entries will not be used."
The T&C take rights to use extensively in all entries, not just winning entries.
Since Mr Jones has apparently not actually bothered to refer to what the T&C say, here's the offensive bit again in nice large, easy to read type:
"For any entry that you send us, you give JP Boden & Co Ltd the unrestricted right to use, copy, change, adapt, publish, translate and re-work your entry, free of any payment being made to you, with the option to transfer to a third party, sell, distribute the content, or combine it into any other form, medium or technology, with no compensation to you and for all time."
Perhaps Boden would like to have another stab at answering the complaint? Please mail pr@boden.co.uk if you agree, and let us know how you get on.
©A admin
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