D&D 5E D&D Beyond Cancels Competition

D&D Beyond has been running an art contest which asked creators to enter D&D-themed portrait frame. DDB got to use any or all of the entries, while the winner and some runners up received some digital content as a prize.

There was a backlash -- and DDB has cancelled the contest.

Thank you to all of our community for sharing your comments and concerns regarding our anniversary Frame Design Contest.

While we wanted to celebrate fan art as a part of our upcoming anniversary, it's clear that our community disagrees with the way we approached it. We've heard your feedback, and will be pulling the contest.

We will also strive to do better as we continue to look for ways to showcase the passion and creativity of our fellow D&D players and fans in the future. Our team will be taking this as a learning moment, and as encouragement to further educate ourselves in this pursuit.

Your feedback is absolutely instrumental to us, and we are always happy to listen and grow in response to our community's needs and concerns. Thank you all again for giving us the opportunity to review this event, and take the appropriate action.

The company went on to say:

Members of our community raised concerns about the contest’s impact on artists and designers, and the implications of running a contest to create art where only some entrants would receive a prize, and that the prize was exclusively digital material on D&D Beyond. Issues were similarly raised with regards to the contest terms and conditions. Though the entrants would all retain ownership of their design to use in any way they saw fit, including selling, printing, or reproducing, it also granted D&D Beyond rights to use submitted designs in the future. We have listened to these concerns, and in response closed the competition. We’ll be looking at ways we can better uplift our community, while also doing fun community events, in the future.

Competitions where the company in question acquires rights to all entries are generally frowned upon (unless you're WotC).

 

[Hussar]

Pretty straightforward. They used your work (with minor editing) and you weren’t remunerated for it. That’s exploitative. Fairly clear cut neh?

You’re right, you can’t tell by the rules. So go by past performance, brand quality, assurance of employees. We don’t assume everyone is exploitative… until they actually are. I thought that would be a basic principle of fairness.

Sorry, @TheSword, but, I didn't quite understand your answer to my question, so, again, I'm sorry, I'm asking again for clarification:

You entered a poetry contest. Did you grant rights to your entry to the contest runners? Forever? As in you signed some sort of boilerplate contract to enter an elementary school (that's what year 5 is isn't it?) poetry contest that granted the publish rights to your entry in perpetuity?

@Hussar can (and doubtless will!) speak for himself here; but for my part the problem isn't the competition/contest in itself, it's what becomes of the non-winning entries afterward.

If, for non-winning entries, all rights revert to the creator after the contest and the entry is returned or (if digital-only) shown to have been deleted/destroyed then everything's gold.

And this, for the win. Poof, all problems go away. The issue isn't about contests. That's fine. It's the fact that you are granting rights to your work to a contest runner for no renumeration. They can then, even if they don't, use your material in any way they see fit. Heck, they could then sell on the entries to someone else to use. Simply transfer the rights to someone else who then starts selling the frames on Fantasy Grounds or DM's Guild.

Sorry folks, I thought everyone was aware that you can buy frames for VTT's. That's been around for quite a while.

And, the whole, "Well, it's just a frame" thing is completely wrong. What's the difference between the effort needed to create a frame for a VTT and a logo? Both are small, fairly simple artworks. Yet, my logo designing friend would be rather annoyed to be told that his work, that he makes a fairly decent living at, is worthless because it's too easy.

Additionally, the point about contests being marketing is well made. I totally agree that things like this are 100% marketing driven. Cool. No problems with that. But, if it's all about getting your brand out there, and using viral marketing to do so, why do you need to keep the rights to every entry? Because you might start selling similar images later on down the line and don't want anyone to sue you? Well, here's a thought, DON'T RUN A CONTEST LIKE THIS FOR PRODUCTS YOU WANT TO SELL. Pretty simple right? If you are running a contest, simply choose stuff that you aren't going to turn around and sell right afterward.

 

[Arilyn]

WotC hangs onto the rights of ALL submissions in many instances...

NO compensation necessarily coming to you.

I don't see anyone complaining about their usage.

If people are going to complain they should make a big protest calling for WotC to release the rights of items that they aren't paying for or have not paid for.

Just recently they tried this NOT just on the small guys, but bigger creators as well...but got called on it.

Most small time creators don't have the money for a lawsuit which is why WotC gets away with it.

However, in many industries this is actually a standard practice. It's not unusual. DDB is getting flack for it right now, but if people REALLY want change, they should look at the actual industry rather than just one small player.

I believe WotC has been taking some flak, haven't they? I don't approve of any company small or large that hangs onto the rights of submitted pieces with no compensation. It hurts artists and its just plain wrong. Not a tricky issue or a grey zone at all.

 

[Hussar]

It explicitly wasn't the case here.

Actually, yes it is.

You could sell the art. Sure, no problem. But, you could never sell the rights to that art without telling the buyer that the buy cannot ever have exclusive rights to that artwork. IOW, the value of that artwork is forever devalued because you no longer have exclusive rights to it.

 

[Hussar]

WotC hangs onto the rights of ALL submissions in many instances...

NO compensation necessarily coming to you.

I don't see anyone complaining about their usage.

If people are going to complain they should make a big protest calling for WotC to release the rights of items that they aren't paying for or have not paid for.

Just recently they tried this NOT just on the small guys, but bigger creators as well...but got called on it.

Most small time creators don't have the money for a lawsuit which is why WotC gets away with it.

However, in many industries this is actually a standard practice. It's not unusual. DDB is getting flack for it right now, but if people REALLY want change, they should look at the actual industry rather than just one small player.

Ok, I'm going by what I found on a quick Google search, but, this is from the WotC website:

Game, Artwork, & Book Submissions​

Follow

Game Submissions​

We do not review unsolicited game or card submissions, return submissions, or make comments on submissions we haven't reviewed.

If you have an idea for a game, we recommend that you:

• Contact an agent, broker, or other experienced game industry professional. They can assist you further in your effort to get a game idea published or submitted.
• From time-to-time, Wizards of the Coast will run design competitions such as The Great Designer Search to offer potential developers a chance to showcase their talents.
• Regularly check our Careers Page for opportunities to become part of the Wizards of the Coast Team.

Artwork Submissions​

We're always looking for talented artists to join our pool of freelancers. Click here for information on how to submit your artwork.

Book Submissions​

At this time, we are not accepting any unsolicited book submissions.

So, I don't think their policy is what you claim it is.

 

[EthanSental]

I’d rather not read 17 pages to find out if someone already mentioned this so I apologize if someone already did…..the art contest is just the frame around character portraits….not a cover of a PHB or interior art. 30 minutes tops to create unique portraits. It’s not that big of a deal…to me at least. I’d rather enjoy bragging if I didn’t win but could still choose it later on.

 

[Hussar]

I’d rather not read 17 pages to find out if someone already mentioned this so I apologize if someone already did…..the art contest is just the frame around character portraits….not a cover of a PHB or interior art. 30 minutes tops to create unique portraits. It’s not that big of a deal…to me at least. I’d rather enjoy bragging if I didn’t win but could still choose it later on.

Again, missing the point. And, no, portrait frames don't necessarily take 30 minutes tops. Good grief, here are some token frames:

A token frame that would allow the image to be displayed both in front of and behind the character image? That's not easy. Or this one:

Maybe you can bang that out in 30 minutes, I sure can't.

But, let's compare this to what a logo designer would get paid. Even with just thirty minutes of billable time, we're looking at 50 bucks or more. And likely a LOT more. Again, we're talking about the contest runner getting thousands and thousands of dollars of free labour that they will own the rights to FOREVER.

I mean, good grief, I did a quick search for token frames on Roll20 and got 60 results, all around the 5 dollar range for 20, 30 ish token frames. So, it's not like people don't sell these. Is someone making a living doing this exclusively? Nope. But, people are getting paid to do this and you are supporting a contest that is devaluing their work by granting free rights to thousands of images so that a company doesn't have to pay anyone for using these.

Here's a thought, if the goal of the contest is to get the best frame artwork, why not take the money for the contest and pay one of the professionals that are already doing it? Heck, take tenders. I don't care. But, why is it somehow justified that we're going to ignore the people who are already doing this so that we can get lots of people to do it for free? It's not like D&D Beyond is a non-profit volunteer organization.

 

[Greg Benage]

Actually, yes it is.

You could sell the art. Sure, no problem. But, you could never sell the rights to that art without telling the buyer that the buy cannot ever have exclusive rights to that artwork. IOW, the value of that artwork is forever devalued because you no longer have exclusive rights to it.

We've already been over this. Point me to a case of someone selling exclusive rights to token frames. It's ridiculous.

 

[HomegrownHydra]

@Hussar can (and doubtless will!) speak for himself here; but for my part the problem isn't the competition/contest in itself, it's what becomes of the non-winning entries afterward.

If, for non-winning entries, all rights revert to the creator after the contest and the entry is returned or (if digital-only) shown to have been deleted/destroyed then everything's gold.

This!

Wizbang and Snarf have explained the legal issues and why it's not so simple. I haven't seen anyone provide an alternative way to do this type of contest that addresses those legal concerns except for some random spitballing which would not be satisfactory. Morrus has said that there are easy workarounds that are regularly used but he hasn't provided any examples. I really would like to see such examples because if there really is a good compromise then showing it would result in a far more productive discussion.

But, if it's all about getting your brand out there, and using viral marketing to do so, why do you need to keep the rights to every entry? Because you might start selling similar images later on down the line and don't want anyone to sue you? Well, here's a thought, DON'T RUN A CONTEST LIKE THIS FOR PRODUCTS YOU WANT TO SELL. Pretty simple right? If you are running a contest, simply choose stuff that you aren't going to turn around and sell right afterward.

The company has a legal concern not because they plan on selling the art from the contest. As has already been explained, the concern is that by chance something original the company has produced in the future in some way resembles a contestant's entry.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Again, missing the point. And, no, portrait frames don't necessarily take 30 minutes tops. Good grief, here are some token frames:

A token frame that would allow the image to be displayed both in front of and behind the character image? That's not easy. Or this one:

Maybe you can bang that out in 30 minutes, I sure can't.

But, let's compare this to what a logo designer would get paid. Even with just thirty minutes of billable time, we're looking at 50 bucks or more. And likely a LOT more. Again, we're talking about the contest runner getting thousands and thousands of dollars of free labour that they will own the rights to FOREVER.

I mean, good grief, I did a quick search for token frames on Roll20 and got 60 results, all around the 5 dollar range for 20, 30 ish token frames. So, it's not like people don't sell these. Is someone making a living doing this exclusively? Nope. But, people are getting paid to do this and you are supporting a contest that is devaluing their work by granting free rights to thousands of images so that a company doesn't have to pay anyone for using these.

Here's a thought, if the goal of the contest is to get the best frame artwork, why not take the money for the contest and pay one of the professionals that are already doing it? Heck, take tenders. I don't care. But, why is it somehow justified that we're going to ignore the people who are already doing this so that we can get lots of people to do it for free? It's not like D&D Beyond is a non-profit volunteer organization.

I think that’s the point.

they could just pay someone they already know. Done.

how does that benefit the people who want to get a leg up? A break?

and of course if one person got picked they are hoping For an advantage against their fellows.

sinister!

they could just pay a pro. But that does not drum up interest and it does not give someone else a chance at a leg up.

so who benefits if they do away from the contest? I am not asking rhetorically.

 

[HomegrownHydra]

I think it could be improved.

But is it exploitive? There has been a lot of hyperbole in this thread, such as equating this public art contest with child labor and sweatshops. Does the Best DM competition's need for improvement place it in the same category as child labor and sweatshops, or are we going to dial back the rhetoric in this thread so that things can be kept in proper perspective?