Volunteering - can THEY own my copyright?

stasber wrote in post #6144536
I was selected onto the volunteer photography team for a festival here in Ireland, which is a major annual weekend event attracting some 250,000+ plus last year.

Volunteer means that I get a t-shirt and a pass and am scheduled with some other photographers according to my area of expertise that I'll fill out on a form. No costs are covered in any way, no money changes hands, I just get to photograph some pretty good gigs.

Here's an extract from their "Things to remember":
- The Festival owns the copyright to the photographs, and unfortunately it isn’t possible to credit the photographers in our publications.
- Photographers can use their photographs but not for commercial use.

There's more in the way of guidelines, stuff I'm familiar with, such as documenting performers names, parents consent & release forms for pics of kids etc - standard fare [Stuff that turns a fun experience into "work"].

But what's your take on their ownership of copyright? Is this an interpretation of "compensation" i.e. t-shirt and pass entitling them to copyright?

Telling me I can't use them for commercial purposes suggests that they may do so if they choose - I've no worries about promotional use for next year's festival etc, but exploring other avenues of raising funds using my pics.

stasber wrote in post #6150181
Yes and no . Besides I've heard bad things about Heineken gigs so would have sniffed out a little more. It is organised (organized ) by a county council who can't afford a budget for photography (photography's not that important at all now is it :rolleyes.

That thought also crossed my mind.

Having slept on it, and with the help of you folks (I posted on another forum too) I think I'll go up anyway, enjoy the festival and take pics I want without the pressure of being exploited .

Update: Just spent 30 mins on the phone with the organiser (she's a photographer herself hired by the Festival and on a personal level has the same concerns as me but has to remain neutral for obvious reasons).

The bottom line is that the Festival isn't budging on their terms, which are broad and vague (per my quote in the original post) and is a verbal agreement. It is very unlikely that they would pursue my 'commercial use' and unlikely that they would sell or pass on pics to others (besides press) but the bottom line being their 'owning the copyright' doesn't tell me how the images will or won't (would or wouldn't) be used however likely or unlikely at any point in the future.

In real terms it might not amount to much at all (storm in a tea cup) but I'm not willing to find out. Telling a volunteer they have absolutely nothing to show for a weekend of work and that they're restricted in what they themselves can do with them is a bit harsh. For some it'll be a fun weekend and who cares what happens to their pics, they'll have a great time anyway. It's not for me (besides having a great time :lol.

sspellman wrote in post #6150939
I myself am in a similar position with a large music festival in my area. I manage a large crew of paid and volunteer photographers. Still-there is no good reason that the event producers have to own copyright, or restrict commercial use of the images. Instead of enforcing this outrageous copyright grab, I created the photo release for the photographers that only licenses rights to the event producers. A professional photographer should educate their clients on licensing rights instead of promoting terms that compromise photographers.

Clients in all industries also need to expect that a limited spend on photography should only get them limited value or service. It should not mean that they simply search for some sucker photographer to give them full value for no $$$. This lowering of expectations is damaging the ability of all photographers to make money.

-Scott