Home  >  News  >  Special announcements  > Announcement

Photographers urged not to sign new baseball contract

Major League Baseball has issued a new credentials contract for photographers and publications. The contract is simply unfair to photographers and publications. It calls for the photographer to provide images (at materials cost) to baseball teams for unlimited use for "news coverage purposes." It also restricts the photographer and publisher to using the images only for "news coverage purposes." The contract prohibits any commercial (non-news) use of the images by either photographers or publishers.

Effectively, the contract eliminates the possibility of image licensing sales other than those made to the entity that contracted with the photographer to cover the game. It limits use of images to "news." It goes on to say that those who produce the images have to supply teams with images at processing cost so that the teams can send them to entities that have competitive interests to the suppliers of the images.

The full contract is currently undergoing analysis by ASMP. We will lodge a protest with Major League Baseball, and we will seek to discuss the matter with them. We understand that several sports publications and the Associated Press have protested. We have heard (unverified) that several newspapers have refused to cover games till the contract changes.

We urge ASMP members to refuse to sign this credentials agreement for three reasons:

1. It is unfair to you, and may actually be restricting your First Amendment rights.
2. It asks you to bind the party that has assigned you, and unless you are specifically authorized to do so, you do not have right to bind them.
3. It considers the assigning party to be your "employer", and such a concession on the part of a freelance photographer might amount to a work for hire agreement between the photographer and the publication.

You might tell Major League Baseball that you will not sign the agreement until ASMP's concerns have been heard and resolved. About six year ago Baseball issued a similar contract. It was withdrawn and revised after protests from and discussions with ASMP and publishers.

ASMP will post further information on this matter as it develops.