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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8361403" data-attributes="member: 7023840">Yes, attorneys don't have to use boilerplate language. But since you seem to be thinking about this issue, why don't you ponder the following:Unlike many contracts, which are written for a particular jurisdiction, a contest/sweepstakes is a specific form of unilateral contract that comes with all sorts of problems. Like, really bad and known problems. This isn't rocket science (not that anything legal really is). In addition, they have the particular and unenviable issue, when they are publicized on the internet and/or nationwide of being subject to the vagaries of not just federal law (FTC, baby!) but also all those different states. So you can have a state that has rules allowing unliteral contracts of adhesion to include waivers of the right to sue, and one that doesn't ... and guess what? That's right, you have to write it to the lowest common denominator. So this gets into ... why boilerplate? I mean, besides the obvious ("Ima write COMES NOW because that's what everyone writes, right?"). Because it is what works. There's a reason that companies have defaulted to variations of the "license," or "use" or even "own it outright," - because that's one way that always works. It's not like this was created out of whole cloth just to screw people- you go with what works. Now, as I wrote before- That's not a definite- perhaps there are some clever clogs out there who can wordsmith something that protects companies, protects artists, and doesn't run afoul of the myriad rules regarding contracts and contests in the different states, but I'm not holding my breath, and I'm certainly not taking the word of people who say "Whatever, it's easy, just do it."Which is what you just said at great length. It's possible! Anything is possible! But it's not easy. There are ways to get around it (geographic limitations, restrictions), but the easiest way to get around all of this is to just not have these types of competitions. Again, if you're confident (and maybe you're right), then why not get some pro bono attorneys to canvas the state and federal law on contests (not sweepstakes) and see what language can be used that protects artists? That would be interesting, and far less dogmatic than, "Just make it work. It's easy. Guys at my high school used to do it all the time."</blockquote>

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