

Are Logo Design Contests Even Legal? - vlad
http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/logo-design-contests-legal/

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teej
Illegal? How is it different from Verizon putting out an RFP saying "We have
$250,000 to spend on advertising in the social media space, show me what
you've got". It's the same thing but on a smaller level. The Wikipedia page
describes it accurately: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_Proposal>

Bad for business? I have to call BS on that too. It's only bad for those
catering to < $500 price point. If you can't handle pricing pressure on the
bottom end, don't compete on price.

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vlad
Thanks for the reply. However, I fail to see how you could have read the
article, or even your own link to Wikipedia, before posting and submitting a
reply.

This is not a request for proposal, by the definition on the page you linked
to. This is a request for a finished artwork, thus a contest, and thus subject
to laws of 50 states as well as international laws, as the article explains.

<http://www.no-spec.com> is another resource regarding such contests.

~~~
teej
The only "contest" that is regulated by law is legally called a "Sweepstake".
A sweepstake is quite clearly defined as "free entries into drawings of
chance". <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweepstakes>

Comparing a design contest to a sweepstake is incorrect. They are not the same
thing.

And links to sites with a clear, stated, and extreme bias doesn't help you
convince me "design contests are bad". It only drives home the points
"designers -think- design contests are bad".

Welcome to the free market.

~~~
ConradHex
>The only "contest" that is regulated by law is legally called a "Sweepstake".

What about, for example, poker tournaments?

~~~
teej
Poker was deemed a game of chance by the US Government. That's why US Banks
can't work directly with poker sites anymore.

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russell
There is a comment from a lawyer at the end that just laughs at the whole
post. There are design competitions all over the place, just not on the web.
My GF regularly enters painting competitions. All the laws were set up to
protect consumers from unscrupulous marketers, "Buy my cereal and maybe you
will win something."

~~~
ConradHex
Did you notice that the cereal contests have a bunch of legal text? Void where
prohibited, etc? Also, those are not "contests of skill".

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vaksel
a logo design studio speaking out against design contests that drive down the
price? I'm shocked. SHOCKED!

~~~
Devilboy
Yea I agree. Technically he could be correct, but he's fighting a losing
fight. These things are clearly not against the law in every country and so to
try to ban them on the internet will just move it out of America to countries
that do allow it.

That's how things work on the internet, just ask the online gambling
operators.

~~~
lacker
This guy doesn't care about the law. This is just one of his many rants
against logo design contests. E.g.

[http://www.thelogofactory.com/library/articles/design-
logo-c...](http://www.thelogofactory.com/library/articles/design-logo-
contests.html) [http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/contest-
de...](http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/index.php/contest-design-logo/)

Whether design contests are good or not, this argument is a sham. The real
conflict is that design contests give non-designers a really cheap way to get
design done. In particular they make it easy and low-risk to hire people from
low-wage countries. And a lot of people claim the resulting design is just as
good. So if you are a high-paid freelance designer, design contests are a
threat to your business model.

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DenisM
I suspect there is a fine line between events where you get to win by
submitting money (gambling), nothing of value (contest) and valuable work
(tender).

The former two are heavily regulated to protect "passive participants" while
the latter is materially different by virtue of participant being actively
involved and is not nearly as regulated.

My humble opinion is based on similar line drawn between active and passive
investments in securities laws - if one gets to profit by contributing funds
but not valuable efforts it's a passive investment and the law is there to
protect these people. If one gets to profit by contributing valuable effort
then it's not a security and the law entrusts people to take care of
themselves in these cases.

not a legal advice. :-)

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spoiledtechie
Didn't Google just do this?

~~~
jcl
Are you talking about this?: <http://www.project10tothe100.com/faq.html>

If so, note that they do not mention the word "contest". Also note that there
are no "winning entrants", only "winning ideas" -- entrants receive nothing at
all if their entries are chosen.

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newy
Along the same lines (or perhaps deeper into the legal gray area), try
swoopo.com. Everyone pays to bid, and the one highest bidder walks away with
the item at a pretty low price, but the "house" ends up with a lot more.
Shady.

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critic
If it's not illegal, it's not worth doing

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viggity
How the hell is anyone being harmed by these contests? I'm sick of these
ridiculous nanny-state laws.

