Documenting the Decade →
The New York Times’s “Documenting the Decade” series is a great body of work from professional and amateur photographers alike — that’s for certain. But a quick glance at the submission form fine print sends chills up my spine:
By submitting to us, you are promising that the content is original, doesn’t plagiarize from anyone or infringe a copyright or trademark, doesn’t violate anybody’s rights and isn’t libelous or otherwise unlawful or misleading. You are agreeing that we can use your submission in all manner and media of The New York Times and that we shall have the right to authorize third parties to do so.
In layman’s terms, this means that if you submit an amazing photograph, your work can possibly be reused by the New York Times anytime it wants. Not only that, the NYT can let other organizations use your work — without ever requiring your consent. Of course, they don’t need your consent because it is implicit in your submission.
Just because it is completely legit doesn’t make it OK, however. The NYT is taking advantage of people’s desire to be published in one of the most respected publications the world has to offer by playing cat-and-mouse with a photographer’s right to control the way their works can be accessed. Professional photographers most certainly would be wary of this scenario, as licensing images is one of the ways a photographer can control their work and profit from it.
I’m all for contribution and sharing on the web, but I think that this is not the way to do it. Compensate the people who make the cut — and when their work is relicensed to other parties, they should share in the profits.
