Parents.com has announced a new photo contest relating to pregnant belly photos.  Before posting contest news releases, I always try to take a look at the terms and conditions of the contest to see what rights, if any, photographers give up in their copyright when submitting photos.  This one deserves some special attention.

Self-Portrait Required

According to the Official Rules to the Parents.com contest, the “entrant” must be the one with the pregnant belly.  Additionally, it appears that the photos must be “self-portraits” based on the representations the entrant must make:

By submitting entry materials, entrants certify that such materials are original and created by entrant, that entrants have the necessary rights, permission and authority to submit such materials, and, if applicable, that entrants maintain a valid copyright in the materials.

I think its pretty clear that Parents.com is not expecting expecting moms to set up a tripod and get their remote or timer ready to snap the pic.  No, it’s clear by looking through the entries that dad’s are the most likely photographers.  This provision is most certainly geared toward entrants sending in photos taken by pro photographers.  This is important because the rules also put liability on the moms if they send in a photo that someone else took and that photographer sues Parents.com or the contest sponsor.  Not a huge deal but, technically, mom’s gotta be photographer and model.

Rights Grab to Your Photo and Personal Info

You get the typical rights grab in the rules:

Entrants authorize the Sponsor to use their name, voice, likeness, biographical data, city and state of residence and entry materials in programming or promotional material and for advertising, public relations and editorial purposes worldwide, in perpetuity, or on a winner’s list, if applicable, without further compensation unless prohibited by law.

I’ve highlighted the key words here: entry materials, promotional material, advertising and perpetuity.

This provisions means Meredith Corporation, the contest sponsor, gets to use the photos you submit (along with the other info about you) in any ads or other marketing material forever – with no additional compensation to you . . . ever.

Enter Spam Man

So, how could Meredith Corporation use your photos or personal info?  Well, you may want to consider who Meredith Corporation is.  Take a quick gander at the info on their “About” page:

Meredith ( www.meredith.com ) is one of the nation’s leading media and marketing companies with businesses centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media.

The Meredith Publishing Group features 26 subscription magazines – including Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Ladies’ Home Journal, MORE, Parents, Fitness, and American Baby – and approximately 200 special interest publications.

Meredith owns 12 television stations, including properties in top-25 markets such as Atlanta, Phoenix and Portland.

Meredith has approximately 400 books in print and has established marketing relationships with some of America’s leading companies including The Home Depot, DIRECTV, DaimlerChrysler, Wal-Mart and Carnival Cruise Lines.

Meredith’s consumer database, which contains more than 85 million names, is one of the largest domestic databases among media companies and enables magazine and television advertisers to target marketing campaigns precisely.

Additionally, Meredith has an extensive Internet presence that includes 32 Web sites and strategic alliances with leading Internet destinations.

Meredith Hispanic Ventures publishes five Spanish-language titles, making Meredith the largest Hispanic publisher in the United States reaching women at every life stage.

I wonder where all those photos could end up?

Also, I hope you like getting requests for magazine subscriptions and direct mail crap from the likes of DIRECTV and Carnival Cruise Lines.

Fight in New York

Want to fight with the Meredith Corp. about some use that you don’t like based on your entry?  Go to New York.  That’s right, entrants agree to bring any dispute about the contest or their use of your materials in New York courts and New York courts only.

Cheap Stock Photo Library

Now to the prize.  One person wins $2500.  One person.  How many photos is Meredith Corp. going to have in their new “stock” library and email marketing (*cough* spam *cough*) list for a price of $2500?

Well, the contest was announced on June 27, two days ago, and there are already 29 pages of images (about 464 total entries thus far).  The contest ends on September 30, 2008.  If this pace continues, that’s well over 20,000 images and email addresses.  That’s a pretty cheap stock photo library and marketing list (about $0.12 per image).  Forget iStock, just run a contest and build your own library.

If you’re ready to give your photos away, sign up for spam and direct mail crap, check out the press release from Parents.com below.

Press Release

Enter Your Pregnant Belly Photos and Pictures of Pregnant Bellies into the Parents.com Best Baby Bump Contest

Take Your Best Pregnant Belly Shots – from Little Baby Bumps to Big Pregnant Bellies – and Upload Those Pregnant Belly Pictures to the Parents.Com Photo Contest

NEW YORK – June 27, 2008 – Parents.com today invited readers to enter their pregnant belly photos and pictures of pregnant bellies into its Best Baby Bump Contest. It’s easy to enter: Just sign in at http://www.parents.com/bump-contest and upload your pregnant belly pictures.

Liz Zack, Executive Editor of Parents.com, says, “We want you to take your best pregnant belly shots – from little baby bumps to big pregnant bellies – and enter them into our Baby Bump Contest. While you’re there, rate and comment on other people’s pregnant belly images, too.”

The Best Baby Bump Contest starts today and ends September 30, 2008. Vote for your favorite bump photo from October 6 to 21. The winner will be announced on Thursday, October 23. The prize is $2,500 cash.

Photos must be .jpeg or .bmp image formats and cannot exceed 3 MB. Photos must be original, unpublished and may not have won any prize or award. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m., E.T., on September 30, 2008.

Zack adds, “Show us your gorgeous belly! Enter your best big, beautiful belly pics in our Belly Photo Contest now for the chance to win $2,500.”

About Parents.com:

Parents.com (http://www.parents.com/) is the premier parenthood site on the Web, and the interactive companion to Parents, American Baby, and Family Circle magazines. With its stable of easy-to-use, helpful tools like the baby name finder, the growing belly tool, the activity finder, and the Birthday party planning tool, Parents.com serves moms and dads, providing everything every parent needs to raise happy, healthy families from crib to college – how, when and where they need it.