Newspaper Gets Around Photography Ban At Football Event With Cartoon Illustrations

from the don't-mess-with-reporters dept

Tue, Aug 10th 2010 3:26am — Mike Masnick

We've covered a few different recent stories of various sports leagues or professional sports teams trying to limit how journalists and photographers can report on their games, and have even covered cheeky attempts to get around such restrictions by having reporters cover events from home while watching on TV. Now, a whole bunch of you have been sending in variations on a story in the UK, where the Southampton football team apparently has decided to ban photojournalists from taking images of matches, instead telling newspapers they need to buy photos from the team's "official" photographer.

Thankfully, some of the newspapers covering the latest match felt that was ridiculous, and chose to respond in some rather creative ways. The Plymouth Herald, who was covering the visiting team, decided to employ someone to draw cartoons of key moments in the match, rather than using the official photographs:

Perhaps even more amusing? Some reports point out that The Sun covered the game by carefully making sure to never mention Southampton or any of its players. Well played.

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Filed Under: cartoons, football, limits, photographers, reporting, uk

24 Comments

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Crosbie Fitch (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 3:52am

Are Cartoons Copyleft?
The question is: are those cartoons copyleft, or is the newspaper happy to use the same privileges that excluded them, to exclude others?
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cc (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 4:36am

Could the team use trademark law to stop the papers from using illustrations?
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abc gum, 10 Aug 2010 @ 4:42am

Re: Are Cartoons Copyleft?
Cartoons are killing the "official" photographer business.

They will need to update their EULA.
By watching the game or looking at any depiction of said game, you agree to not create any derivative works based upon your experience.
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abc gum, 10 Aug 2010 @ 4:44am

Re:
No, but they can ask that a fee be added to all footwear purchases.
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Crosbie Fitch (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 5:10am

Re: Re: Are Cartoons Copyleft?
Frankly, I don't see how any law (except through abuse) can enable anyone to prevent spectators using the photographs they've taken as they see fit - let alone actually prevent them taking them in the first place.

A grounds may eject anyone (if not unfairly discriminatory), but that doesn't grant them power over what anyone may do whilst present (least of all power to seize their cameras or delete photos).

No doubt the newspapers will scour Flickr and use those photos (having contrived that non-'journalist' spectators do the necessary).

I guess there's some recent amendment to copyright that stipulates that the owner of a venue of a sporting event is granted an exclusive right to publish/broadcast coverage of that event - no doubt including the power to seize spectators' recording equipment and any unauthorised footage.

When such unethical 'rights' are granted like candy one cannot be surprised at how increasingly corrupt things have become.
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AllenR, 10 Aug 2010 @ 5:16am

Nice
It's ridiculous that they have to resort to drawing cartoons. Grow up already! http://bit.ly/aAVFPm
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2010 @ 5:46am

In my best Spanish accent
Llllooooooooooooooooooooolllllll
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Bubba Gump (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 6:40am

Re:
You'll notice that the cartoons only use colors to signify the teams. There are no logos or words, so really (imho) nothing to go after for trademark.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2010 @ 6:41am

Re: Nice
Why did you tiny link http://TechReview.LIEconomy.com ? It's not that much longer than your tiny version and looks pretty damn sketchy.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2010 @ 6:47am

Re: Re: Nice
some people think bit.ly looks cool and edgy and some people think it looks sketchy.
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bubba, 10 Aug 2010 @ 6:54am

Advertisers?
I would suppose there is plenty of advertising and logos at that game too that the artist gets to ignore as well. If I were advertising there I would probably not be too happy...
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Yogi, 10 Aug 2010 @ 7:00am

Re: Re: Are Cartoons Copyleft?
From a business perspective it is shocking that people are allowed to have unofficial, unsponsored, commercial-free personal experiences of public events.

I'm sure ACTA is just the tip of the iceberg.
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lavi d (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 7:15am

Uh.
That's not football...
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Brent Ashley (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 7:22am

Market forces
I don't see why the press doesn't just stop reporting on these teams altogether, and see what the fans and team decide to do about it. The press would have to express to their audience that the teams precipitated this action and entreat upon them to complain to the team if they wanted to see them back in the press, but that they would respect the team's wishes to not be reported on in any meaningful way. After the shitstorm died down, I think some sense would reign.
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Danny, 10 Aug 2010 @ 7:29am

Re: Re:
That is until teams start claiming that depicting football players with those colors is infringment because "everyone knows that those colors are associated with their team".
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2010 @ 7:33am

Re: Re: Re: Nice
Looks sketchy when they don't say what it is and expect people to follow links blindly.
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interval (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 7:51am

Re: Market forces
Unfortunately people buy papers to read about sports events, among other things. Apparently.
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Joel (profile), 10 Aug 2010 @ 8:17am

Full of WIN
This is just full of win...

These people get +1 for being ingenious and resourceful.
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Another AC, 10 Aug 2010 @ 8:26am

Re: Uh.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is football. It is not American football, which incidentally only uses feet for specific pieces of the game. Field goals/extra points, punts and kick offs. Football(which has been around a lot longer than American football) uses feet as the primary mode of moving the ball to the intended target. Goal keepers and players completing a throw in are the only legal manner in which hands are used. Of course, you get headers and chest traps, but I digress. Unfortunately due to the popularity of American football, we in the USA call it soccer. Sadly, we are a minority in this.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2010 @ 11:47am

The better play would to be to ignore them altogether and don't report anything. If all the local media outlets did that, they would change their tune pretty quick.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2010 @ 3:38pm

Why can't they use 3D?
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Anonymous of Course, 10 Aug 2010 @ 6:17pm

Been done for ages
When photographs were prohibited in the court room newspapers would send an artist to sketch the scenes.
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annasmith (profile), 11 Aug 2010 @ 4:12am

Yas I agree with "abc gum". Cartoons are killing the "official" photographer business.
-annasmith
--------------------------------
Starting a small business
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sadique, 1 Nov 2010 @ 2:45pm

science
this game is very bad but kool
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