Moral Rights (Attribution & Integrity) – Our Criteria

Exemplary Practice: ★★★★★ (5 Stars)

To achieve an exemplary rating, your competition terms must demonstrate:

Terms are positioned to make these guarantees immediately obvious.

Explicitly, prominently, and unequivocally guarantee both proper attribution and robust respect for the integrity of the photographer’s work.

Clearly state that the photographer will always be credited.

Clearly state that no derogatory alterations or misleading uses will occur without explicit consent.

Demonstrate a proactive commitment to preserving intellectual property rights, including addressing metadata integrity.

Examples:

• “Photographers retain all moral rights, including the right to be credited and the right to object to derogatory treatment of their work. Proper attribution will always accompany displayed images, and images will not be altered in any way that is prejudicial to the photographer’s honour or reputation. All original metadata will be preserved.”
• “We guarantee full attribution to the photographer for all uses of their work. Images will not be subjected to any derogatory alteration or used in a misleading context.”

Very Good Practice: ★★★★☆ (4 Stars)

To achieve a very good rating, your competition terms must demonstrate:

Actively protect the work’s artistic integrity, going beyond basic attribution.

Clearly articulate a strong commitment to both attributing the photographer and explicitly respecting the work’s integrity.

Provide clear safeguards against derogatory alterations.

Ensure proper credit will accompany the image in all stated uses.

Examples:

• The photographer will always be credited for their submitted work, and their work will not be subject to derogatory alteration without their explicit consent.”
• “All submitted works will be displayed with proper attribution, and their integrity will be respected, with only minor technical adjustments made for display purposes.”
• “Photographer’s moral rights, encompassing both attribution and integrity, are fully acknowledged and upheld in all uses.”

Good Practice: ★★★☆☆ (3 Stars)

To achieve a good rating, your competition terms must demonstrate:

The core commitment to providing credit is present and easily discernible.

Explicitly and clearly confirm that the photographer will be credited for their work.

Establish a solid commitment to attribution.

May include common caveats regarding third-party errors in crediting, but commits to working to resolve such issues in a timely manner.

May be largely silent on the integrity aspect, but generally avoids language that would permit outright derogatory treatment of the work.

Examples:

• “Photographer will receive credit when their work is used by the competition or its partners.”
• “All images displayed will include photographer attribution. Minor resizing for display is permitted, ensuring the original intent is broadly maintained.”
• “Entries will be presented with appropriate credit. Reasonable modifications for formatting, such as resizing, are allowed, avoiding changes that are genuinely derogatory.”
• “The organiser will credit the photographer, but is not responsible for third-party omissions, though efforts will be made to correct them promptly.”

Non-Compliant

This category applies if your terms fundamentally violate a photographer’s moral rights, falling significantly below our compliance standards. This includes instances where:

• This category applies if your terms fundamentally violate a photographer’s moral rights, falling significantly below our compliance standards. This includes instances where:
• Moral rights are explicitly waived: Your terms explicitly require entrants to waive their moral rights (e.g., right to attribution or integrity) as a condition of entry. This is an unacceptable practice and undermines the artist’s fundamental connection to their creation.
• Lack of guaranteed attribution: There is no clear commitment to crediting the photographer, or the terms suggest that images may be used without attribution. This directly contradicts the Right to Attribution.
• Allowance for derogatory treatment: The terms grant your organisation or third parties broad rights to alter, modify, or use images in ways that could be considered derogatory or prejudicial to the photographer’s honour or reputation, without any recourse or explicit consent.
• Metadata stripping is required or implied: Your terms require or strongly imply that entrants must remove metadata from their images prior to submission, or it is clear that your platform automatically strips such vital information, hindering proper attribution and authenticity.