The Barclays Center Will Use Your Photos Without Paying, Or Asking You

The Barclays Center opened 2 weeks ago in Brooklyn, and it’s one of the most beautiful and exciting arenas in the world to date. It’s a huge project that will make that part of Brooklyn very attractive, and will bring many sporting and music events to the area. But for fans and photographers, their Facebook policy might cause some anger. In a note on their Facebook page, The Barclays Center posted their ‘terms and conditions’ for uploaded content on their page. In this document, that 99.9% of their fans dont even see, they make anyone who posts a picture or a video on the page waive their rights for their work, and give full rights to The Barclays Center- which means they can use it for advertising, they can re-sell it to 3rd party companies, or for any marketing campaign they want to do for The Barclays Center. They won’t ask you for your explicit permission, and wont pay you. They will just use it if they like it. Crazy.

Check out the full terms and conditions:

“By submitting your photo to Barclays Center’s page (including its Facebook wall) on Facebook (the “Page”), you hereby agree and consent to: Brooklyn Events Center, LLC and its affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies (including advertising agencies) and parents, the “Company”) using the submitted photograph(s), video(s), comment(s) and other accompanying materials (collectively, the “User Content”) for advertising, marketing, promotion and other commercial and business purposes in accordance with these terms and conditions.

When you upload the User Content to the Page, you hereby grant the Company (and its licensees, advertising agencies and promotion agencies) and the employees, agencies and authorized representatives of each and all of them (collectively, “Authorized Persons”), the unrestricted, perpetual, worldwide, non-transferable, royalty-free right and license to display, exhibit, transmit, reproduce, record, digitize, modify, alter, adapt, create derivative works, exploit and otherwise use and permit others to use the User Content (including, all copyrights in the User Content) in connection with the Company’s marketing, advertising and promotion of Barclays Center on Facebook.

By uploading User Content to the Page, you represent and warrant to the Company that: (1) you are of at least 18 years of age; (2) you own all rights in the User Content or otherwise have the right to submit the User Content to the Company; (3) the User Content does not violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party (including, any rights of copyright, trademark, publicity or privacy); (4) any persons identified in the User Content have consented to the submission of the User Content on the Page and further use of the User Content as contemplated herein; and (5) the Authorized Persons’ use of the User Content in the manner contemplated above and the rights and licenses granted hereunder do not, and will not, violate any right of, or conflict with or violate any right or commitment made to, any third party and no consent or authorization from any third party is required in connection with such use. You hereby agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Authorized Persons from and against any and losses, and all claims by third parties, resulting from your breach of any of the foregoing representations or warranties.

Lastly, you hereby waive, release and forever discharge the Company and each Authorized Person and each of their subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, managers, members, shareholders, employees, representatives and agents from any and all rights, claims and liability relating to the use of the User Content in the manner contemplated above including, without limitation, any claims based on the invasion of privacy, commercial use of name or likeness and the right of publicity.”

Do you think its fair? Will this make you avoid posting your photos on their page?
I dont even understand how this can be legal.

Thanks to Avihai Levy for the tip Via Music Photographers.