Modify the parts in the curly brackets {} & you can use it as it stands. Please feel free to just use parts, to add to it & to distribute it to anyone who’ll find it useful.

Dear XXXXX,

It is with regret that I find that I am unable to {tender for the contract/enter your competition/accept your commission etc}, which I am sure would have been an interesting and worthwhile project with which to be involved.

Having looked through the {contract/tender/terms/brief}, I found that I would be required to transfer my copyright to your {company/organisation}. I am unable to undertake the work for you under these conditions.

In line with established industry practice I do not assign copyright to {clients/other parties}, my practice is to licence the use of images to the client, drawing up a licence agreement that allows the full use of the images for all necessary purposes while retaining the copyright myself and reserving my moral rights.

This business model is strongly recommended by all the professional associations and is the position upon which the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 is based. Your terms set out to undermine the very basis of the law which was specifically drawn up to protect all parties concerned in the production of original artistic material.

{If a government organisation} The present Government has made statements strongly supportive of sole traders, but these policies are undermined when a government-supported organisation itself circumvents the law in a way that is damaging to sole traders and seeks to deprive them of a significant part of their livelihood.

Professional photographers are strongly advised by the Association of Photographers, the National Union of Journalists and the Institute of Journalists not to accept such terms. The terms you propose will discourage professionals who appreciate the value of their work. To reduce the pool of available photographers in this way cannot be in your interest.

It is entirely possible to achieve your goals in full without an assignment of the copyright. Licences can be agreed between the parties to include such terms as “The Photographer grants YYYYY a licence to use the images supplied for the promotion of YYYYY’s aims and objectives, without limit of time or territory”. Other requirements for exclusivity or protection of the organisation’s good name can similarly be covered by a licence agreement.

Clearly there will be some, unaware of the implications, who are willing to surrender their rights but I felt it necessary to write to you and explain my reasons for not so doing. I and other photographers who would have enjoyed working with your organisation, promoting its aims and good work, feel disappointed that the detail of the contract unnecessarily excludes serious professionals and undermines our profession.

Thank you for your offer; hopefully the opportunity to work with you will arise again in the future with terms and conditions that do not require an assignment of copyright.

Yours faithfully

A Photographer