NPPA Warns Photographers Against Rights Grabs in Credential Agreements
The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) is warning photojournalists about rights-grabbing credentialing agreements following a recent controversy surrounding The Gazelle Group’s credentialing agreements.
The Gazelle Group, which is a major firm that specializes in sports coverage, including many college basketball games and tournaments, asked that photographers provide the organization with an irrevocable, free license to use any photos taken at the credentialed event for any purpose whatsoever, except for resale. The original agreement, which NPPA learned about on October 12 and prompted the NPPA news post linked in the introduction, is seen in part below:
In exchange for my photographer credential being approved, I agree to grant The Gazelle Group, Inc. an irrevocable license, at no cost, to use any and all photos taken at the Event for any purpose whatsoever (other than resale). I shall provide Gazelle with digital access to my photos through a private web site, a public resale web site, or through digital delivery. I also understand that my agreement to these terms does not guarantee the approval of my application.
Unsurprisingly, this credential agreement rubbed professional photographers and organizations like NPPA, the New York Press Photographers Association (NYPPA), and ASMP the wrong way. In no uncertain terms, this agreement was a rights grab, as NPPA puts it.
This type of “pay-to-play” arrangement is bad for photographers, and effectively a nonstarter for news organizations like Getty Images, the Associated Press, Imagn, and Icon Sports Wire, all of which have been involved in the discussions with NPAA and The Gazelle Group, NPPA’s General Counsel, Mickey H. Osterreicher, Esq., tells PetaPixel.
On October 14, NPPA sent a draft to the Gazelle Group with proposed alternative language for the firm’s credentials agreement, and key changes included that credentialed photographers (or their employers, if applicable) retained all rights to their images and The Gazelle Group may request, but cannot require, a separate non-exclusive license to use selected images for very specific purposes, including marketing, on its website, and on social media. As is standard, additional licensing agreements would be handled by the photographer or their employer.
The Gazelle Group revised its credential agreement language a week later, adding that it would still have access to up to three selected images via a non-exclusive license per event, in exchange for approval of a credential to access a Gazelle Group event. The group said that it would credit the photographer, but this does not wholly address the situation.
On October 23, after conferring with the groups involved, Osterreicher told The Gazelle Group that trading credentials for up to three photos remained a significant problem. NPPA sent another revision through, outlining that credentialed photographers or their employers could, if they so chose, send a selection of images to The Gazelle Group within a reasonable time, which could then be licensed at competitive, reasonable market rates.
As Osterreicher explains, The Gazelle Group’s demands that photographers provide the company with irrevocable licenses in exchange for credentials is strongly objectionable and hostile toward photographers. It is also, arguably, illegal. Photojournalists, like other members of the press, have constitutional rights to perform protected work, which includes photographing news events. Non-negotiable terms, such as those in The Gazelle Group’s credential agreements, serve to gatekeep access to newsworthy events. This type of arrangement runs afoul of the First Amendment.
This is not the first time the NPPA has spoken out against rights grabs and other problematic credential agreements, as the organization has previously objected to similarly overarching agreements that have been imposed by famous performers, including Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Ariana Grande. The Gazelle Group’s credentialing agreement is just a recent example of a broader problem in the industry.
As NPPA argues, journalists and news outlets must read credentialing forms very carefully. There is sufficient evidence at this point that they can be predatory rights grabs. Photographers should consider all their options and be mindful about signing any agreements that may forfeit their rights to their work.
Whether The Gazelle Group will further change its credential agreements remains unclear at this point, but the NPPA and the other groups involved have made their objections clearly known.
“Demands for the absolute right to profit off our members’ work are even more egregious when coupled with editorial control. Such demands are patently offensive and incompatible with a free press,” NPPA powerfully concludes. “Photographers and news organizations should not acquiesce to these coercive agreements. Protecting your rights protects the public’s right to see the truth.”
Photographers who have credentialing concerns are encouraged to contact the NPPA directly at [email protected].
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
