11/30/06

AP declines to accept restrictions on photographs of Victoria Beckham

BERLIN (AP) -- The Associated Press was barred from photographing a prestigious German arts awards ceremony Thursday after AP refused to sign agreements restricting its coverage of former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham.

Organizers at the Bambi awards in Stuttgart at first told photographers from news agencies that they were required to sign a document from Beckham's managers placing a series of restrictions on photographs of Beckham, an award presenter at the ceremony.

Getty Images signed that agreement, but AP, Reuters and the German agencies DPA and DDP refused.

Organizers then said the agencies could cover the awards if they would sign a different agreement -- not to take any photographs at all of Beckham, wife of British soccer star David Beckham.

The AP declined to sign that agreement as well. At that point, the other agencies agreed to sign the initial contract but said that in protest they would refuse to take any photographs of Beckham.

"We feel strongly that, as the Bambi awards are an event of high public interest, news agencies should be allowed independent access to the ceremony, as we are at other major award ceremonies," said AP Director of Photography Santiago Lyon. "The restrictive conditions that the organizers were trying to impose are unacceptable to The Associated Press."

AP was able to shoot pictures from the red carpet but not from the ceremony inside.

The initial agreement, from Beckham Brands Limited, would have allowed the agencies to use their photographs of Beckham for only three months; required that Beckham get copies and be allowed to use them for promotional purposes; and prohibited photographers from revealing any "confidential information" they discovered about Beckham during the ceremony.