Be careful out there.

A few days ago I advised watching out for photographic competitions that take all rights to all entries (here). My advice is, if you value your work, stay away from them

But it isn't only competitions that do this.

Adobe, makers of Photoshop, one of the most widely-used image editing programs, are making a free, online version available – called Photoshop Express. They describe it like this:

Free Online Software Brings Photoshop Technology to Anyone Taking Digital Photos

Photoshop Express has taken much of Adobe’s best image editing technology and made it simple and accessible to a new online audience. Photoshop Express allows users to store up to 2 gigabytes of images online for free, make edits to their photos, and share them online in creative ways. (There’s more on it here.)

This sounds wonderful, and very generous of Adobe.

But if you’re tempted to use this online program, I suggest that you read the Terms and Conditions first.

I know ... we usually skip over these boring legal things. I often do. But they are important. Take Adobe’s paragraph 8, for example:

8. Use of Your Content.

Adobe does not claim ownership of Your Content. However, with respect to Your Content that you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Services, and unless otherwise specifically agreed in any Additional Terms that might accompany individual services (such as Photoshop.com/Express), you grant Adobe a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other Materials or works in any format or medium now known or later developed.

I would suggest that you consider the implications of that paragraph very, very carefully before you make any decision about using Photoshop Express.