Artists' Bill of Rights

Gordon (above) proposed mounting a campaign against rights grabbing competitions. Since then he has helped Pro-Imaging construct a foundation for the campaign, the Bill of Rights, which was implemented in March 2008. Photo by: Graeme Bulcraig Photography.

A campaign that promotes the rights of creative people of all disciplines, including photography, has been launched today.

The Bill of Rights for all Artists updates and expands the Bill of Rights campaign initiated in 2008 by the photographer's organisation, Pro-Imaging.org.

The campaign aims to:

• To provide a means whereby all artists' associations can unite around a common set of standards for preservation of their rights.
• To promote the Bill of Rights' standards for the preservation of artists' rights in competitions and appeals seeking creative works. (Consideration may be given to widening that remit in future, e.g. to contracts.)
• To promote organisations who support the Artists’ Bill of Rights and to promote their competitions and appeals.
• To educate the public about the purpose and value of their intellectual property rights and to enable them to recognise when they are being exploited.
• To publish reports about the extent of rights grabbing and to analyse and quantify the rights grabbed by the private, public, charitable, and non-profit sectors.
• To press for legislative changes that would protect the public from unfair and unethical terms and conditions that seek to exploit their intellectual property rights.

Visit the Artists’ Bill of Rights website for more information.