A big EPUK hats off to Amateur Photographer magazine who have forced the BBC to revoke a rights grab in its Electric Proms photography competition.

The original terms of the competition stated:

The winner will be commisioned by the BBC to take photos at the BBC Electric Proms. This means the BBC would hold the copyright to these photos.

Not only was this an out-and-out rights grab, but the idea that when commissioned, a freelance has to give away copyright is plainly incorrect.

After Amateur Photographer intervened, the BBC agreed to amend the terms of the competition to:

The winner of this competition will be commissioned by the BBC to take photos at the event….Part of the prize is to have photos displayed on this website. We may use the photos for publicity purposes across the BBC and in external publications. We will give full credit for any photos used. By entering this competition you are agreeing that if you win, you will grant the BBC a licence to use the images like this. You will still own the copyright to these images.

...a clear success for the photographic weekly which has been hitting the newsstands for an astonishing 121 years.

Now, if only Emap and thelondonpaper were that easy…