Breeders' Cup - Coming Up Lame

Imagine my surprise when a missive related to the Breeders' Cup landed in my inbox suggesting they have the right to limit images that are produced by the news media.

When you are producing an event, it may - or may not - be news. There are a number of examples where the news media has opted not to cover "news events" - domestically there's the LPGA and the Associated Press, as noted in this article, and internationally, there was the boycott of Crickett coverage in Austraila (as seen here), so the notion that the BC isn't taking a risk is pure folly.

Here's what, in part, Thoroughbred Times reported:

(Continued after the Jump)

The company will require licensing permission for photos and other images captured by credentialed media at the Breeders’ Cup and used for anything other than editorial coverage within 30 days of the event... {Peter} Land said licensing fees for commercial use of photos from the Breeders’ Cup most likely would be determined on a case-by-case basis. Media organizations using photos and images for editorial purposes after 30 days would not necessarily be charged....“Even though there is a 30-day sentence, it doesn’t mean you can’t use it after 30 days, you just need our permission,” Land said.

Mr. Land (LinkedIn profile) got this idea during his five years at the NBA, where he was in-charge of their marketing and communications shop.

Land was quoted in the article as saying "It’s not directed at the journalism community. This is primarily directed at photographers. Mostly these kinds of credential languages are prepared to prevent someone from using the images outside of the media environment." The problem is, that if a photographer wants to license an image to the journalism community - like Thoroughbred Times, Bloodhorse, or any other publication - not to mention newspapers, they're precluding them from doing that. Further, there are limitations on the commercial use of corporate logos, so the use of the Breeders' Cup logo in posters or advertising would meet that restriction.

If you're writing a license for your use, you might try this:

This photograph is licensed for one time advertising use in XYZ Magazine, for a full page ad, where the photograph appears 1/2 page, in the print edition only. The exercise of this license is contingent upon Client securing any and all necessary rights clearances from any recognizable individuals in the photograph, trademark owners, or other parties who may have a right to preclude the exercising of this license."

I am not a lawyer, but it's essentially like you selling a piece of the pie that is necessary to make up the whole pie - before the pie is consumed. Check with someone to ensure this language holds water, but it's a step in the right direction.


The problem is, I think, that the sport of horse-racing needs as much publicity as it can get - it hasn't reached the critical mass of the NBA/et al. With tracks such as Bay Meadows closing, and the likelihood of Santa Anita being sold, the sport is focusing it's attention in the wrong places.

This idea is the BC's Eight Bells - and needs to be put out of it's misery even before it gets out of the gate, let alone before it leaves the track!

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