Blacks Photo Books

[TenPenny]

So, I was doing some digging on photobooks, and on another forum I came across a discussion on Blacks. Interesting, if you use Blacks to pmake your photo books, their terms of use give them the right to use YOUR pictures for anything they want, without compensation:

http://blacks.pnimedia.com/disclaimers/terms.aspx

You grant to the Web Site and its service providers and licensees a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, unrestricted, world-wide right and license to access, use, copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, perform, communicate to the public, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, and otherwise use such Materials (in whole or in part) in connection with the Service, using any form, media or technology now known or later developed, without providing compensation to you or any other person

 

[Ron in Regina]

I don't think thats very strange at all....and is actually common place. The following
comes from Canadian Content's own Terms of Service:

(d) By uploading materials to any Forum or submitting any materials to us, you
automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such materials expressly
granted) us a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, nonexclusive right and license to
use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and display,
create derivative works from and distribute such materials or incorporate such
materials into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed
throughout the universe. In addition, you warrant that all so-called "moral rights" in
those materials have been waived.

 

[TenPenny]

True, but Canadian Content isn't providing a service of printing a book for me to give to my friends. Blacks is providing a printing service, to make calendars and books, but is then claiming the right to keep your content, simply because you use their service.

You hire Blacks to print a calendar for you, and in return, they own your pictures. Neato, they even sucker you into paying for it.

 

[Ron in Regina]

If you submit a photo to a newspaper or magazine to publish, it becomes
theirs to use. In order to post a picture on this Forum, you have to translate
it into a code that the Forum recognizes, and any site that you post that pic
to in order to put it into code also claims your picture. Everyone covers
their arses at every step. It's the way of the world we live in.

 

[TenPenny]

In the old days, when you took film in to be processed, the lab didn't claim the right to copy your pictures.

But times have changed, and some people have no idea what they're giving away. Certainly, if I want to print a calendar with pictures of my kids on it, I don't want Blacks to own the pictures, and use them for advertising, just because I hired them to print the calendars.

 

[Outta here]

I agree Tenpenny, that's not cool at all. It smacks of underhandedness, and I hate to see this sort of behaviour becoming more and more prevalent. I know it's a buyer beware society we live in, but I'll bet there's a whack of folks who click on an agreement from Blacks, with absolutely no clue that they've just given away ownership of their pics.

Thanks for pointing this out - I use Wal-Mart's online photo service but I think I'll check a little more closely next time to see if I'm signing any rights away.