Rules

1. General Provisions

1.1. The “World Photo” contest and all related expositions and events are organized by photographers’ association “Beautiful World” (dba a nonprofit organization “Humanitarian Research Center “Ember””).   

1.2. Any individual who has come of age may participate in the contest by registering at the website of the contest provided that his/her photos follow the rules of the contest. 

1.3. The contest will run from September, 2008  to February, 2009.

1.4. An author shall be a person who has made a photo and has submitted it to the contest and shows. The Author will be referred to in all organizational matters to come. Photos may also be posted to the contest by their exclusive copyright holders.

1.5. A photo (a work, a shot, a picture, a photograph) shall be a shot made by a camera which meets the terms and conditions of the contest and is a property of the Author.  

1.6. The organizers reserve the right to alter these rules, the composition of the jury and introduce other changes.  Up-to-date information will be posted at the official website of the contest in due time.

2. Conditions of Participation in the Contest

2.1. To participate in the contest, an author has to register at the website of the contest. Having registered, the author becomes a contestant and may upload digital photos to the website of the contest.  

2.2. Posted photos must have an artistic merit, fit the philosophy of the contest and comply with legislation in force. Photos must meet the following technical requirements:

·         file format: JPEG;

·         the minimum size: 1600x1200 pixels;

·         works must not have any author’s solid plates, added frames, logos, date, etc;

·         photos must stick to a certain technical standard: there must be no excessive image noise from the camera matrix or underexposed or overexposed photos;

2.3. Photos posted to the contest may be uploaded to the website mirovoefoto.ru on three different bases:

2.3.2. Photos posted to the contest and at the same time given to the whole world as “a present”: it means that any website user will be able to download the photos in full definition for free and use them at his/her own discretion including their commercial use. In this case the contest organizers shall not be liable for subsequent use of the photos by third parties.

2.3.3. Photos posted to the contest and at the same time put on sale: the author shall indicate the price of his/her photo and organizers shall provide a possibility to download the photo in full definition for cash, shall pay royalties to the author in accordance with a Contract made between the Author and the Organizers and shall retain a commission fee in the amount of 50% of the price of the photo. An author is obliged to send a written Contract on transfer of rights to the posted pictures within 7 days after receiving a notification in confirmation that the photos have been qualified to participate in the contest. Photos will be in “Only Contest” section (and cannot be sold) until the written Contract is received.     

2.4. Winners of the contest and winners of separate rounds of the contest shall be chosen by the jury from among contestants. Winners shall be announced by way of posting the jury’s decision at the website.

2.5. Color photos and black-and-white photos are both accepted to take part in the contest.

2.6. An author may post an unlimited number of photos in every nomination. One and the same photo may not be posted in more than one nomination. Photo series are not allowed.

2.7. The organizers reserve the right to reject photos that fail to meet conditions specified in Item 2.2 of these Rules.

2.8. Winners of the contest and winners of separate rounds of the contest are obliged to submit the original photos in full definition to be showcased at related shows.

2.9. Uploaded photos must be accompanied with the following information:

an original title given by the author; and

the author’s comments on the shooting.

2.10. It is quite acceptable to apply graphic editors to posted pictures. You can remove image noise, edit brightness, sharpness and levels. Cropping is also acceptable.  

2.11. The organizers reserve the right to remove a noncompliant photo from the contest or reject the registration of a contestant and remove all his//her photos should it has been proved that he/she provided untruthful information.

2.12. The organizers may ban a contestant for obscene vocabulary in titles or descriptions of photos or deliberately false information about uploaded photos.     

2.13. The organizers shall have the right to change the nomination of a photo to the one that fits it better at their own discretion.

3.         The Contest Procedure

3.1. Photos are accepted, qualified and rated from September 1, 2008 till January 31, 2009.

3.3. Authors receive notifications by e-mail on whether their photos have been qualified or not.

4.  Rating of Photos

4.1. Photos are rated by a panel of judges (the jury) appointed by the organizers, who monthly fill in internet-protocols naming the winner in every nomination from the first till the 10^th day of a month. The jury chooses winners of the contest and winners in every nomination.   

4.2. While making preliminary or final ratings of photos, the jury may refer to on-line ratings of contesting photos given by the website users and maximum total ratings of posted photos.

4.3. All disputable situations shall be resolved by the organizers in due course.

4.4. If a disputable situation cannot be resolved, it is the jury who makes a decision.

4.5. A decision of the jury shall be final and may not be appealed.

5. Copyright

5.1. All rights to the posted material must belong to the author.

5.2. The organizers shall be entitled to use Photos without any compensation to their respective authors but with indication of their names for the purposes as follows:
— provide digital or printed photos to the jury so that they could rate them;  

— showcase photos of the winners in printed or digital form at the “World Photo” shows;
— reasonably use photos to publicize the contest and its results in printed and electronic mass media;
— use photos of the winners in photo albums, information brochures, digital media and other products which accompany the “World Photo” contest and form an integral part thereof;
— use photos of the winners to promote the contest in future; and
— use photos in marketing activities of Shopping and Entertainment Center CTiR “Mir” and the organizers of the “World Photo” contest upon consent of the Authors together with an indication of their names.  
Copies of Photos made by “World Photo” contest organizers to be exhibited at related shows shall be their property and may be used at their own discretion in any activities of CTiR “Mir” upon consent of the Authors together with an indication of their names.

5.3. The organizers shall not be liable for any copyright claims. An author, who has posted photos to take part in the “World Photo” contest, bears sole responsibility for the copyright issues.  The registered author shall be liable to third parties who are connected with the photo (models, owners of depicted property, etc.).

5.4. The author shall be solely responsible for any breach, deliberate or unintended misleading information about himself/herself and about the photo.

 

6.  Originals of Photos

6.1. The author shall submit the original of any posted photo at a request of the organizers. Failure to do this may result in removal of the photo from the contest.

6.2. Originals shall be submitted within 7 days after receiving a written, electronic or oral notification from the organizers.  

6.3. Having received the notification, the author shall provide the originals (or digitalized photographs) to the organizers as negatives, slideshows or digital images on a CD, a DVD or a memory stick (photos may also be sent by email or a file sharing service upon mutual agreement of the parties).

6.4. Images on digital media shall meet the following requirements:

File format: JPEG (with minimum compression) or TIFF (uncompressed).

Image framing must coincide with the photo posted at the website. The photo size must be as large as possible

6.5. If the author provide a photo on analog media, the organizers shall not be liable for the scanning quality and color rendition in a printed copy. Should the organizers cannot make a good copy, the photo is removed from the contest.