Flight of the Conchords Poster Competition

I'm not quite sure how to respond to this so-called contest. I read through the official rules and I feel that it's rather questionable. I'm also curious what everyone else might think. So... here goes... First of all, the copyright. Section 5 in the rules basically states that this contest is nothing more than a glorified "work-for-hire". Meaning, by giving them your work, you give up every copyright you have to that piece. It doesn't even matter if you win! It blatantly says "By UPLOADING a poster it officially belongs to us". That means that they can "officially" go off and print it whenever they want. They even go on to say that they have the "exclusive right to use, alter and/or edit any Poster in any manner..." And there's nothing you can do about it. Secondly, the prize: A print of your 11x17 poster in a frame and signed? Really?? I can go across the street to Kinko's, print my poster for like $3, then go buy a frame a Michaels that maybe sets me back, what, $20? (And best of all, I get to keep all the rights to my artwork). I understand that fans might love having something signed by them, but it's still a shoddy prize for all the work you'd be doing. At least Bodegas Terras Gauda offers a $10,000 prize in their international competition (even though they consistently pick ugly designs as the winners). While yes, as the winner you have to give up your rights to the artwork to Terras Gaude, they are, in essence, PAYING YOU FOR YOUR WORK & OWNERSHIP RIGHTS. You might be thinking "Well, Christine, it says in this contest that they may print 250 of them. That means people will see my work." Yeah... the keyword being "may". I "may" drive over to Walmart today. I "may" not. Just like they may not print your work and then your work isn't getting seen. I would rather them not print it and just give the $250 (cost of printing) as the prize. More or less, this basically sounds like a client who wants work done, but they don't think it's worth paying somebody for it, so they hold a "contest". I can't tell you how many times I've seen clients post an ad on Craig's List or iFreelance where they're like "LOGO CONTEST!!!!! Make our logo and if we like it you're a winnerrrrrrr! And your prize is $50!!" Not only is the prize some stupid amount (if any at all), but sometimes they'll be like "This will be great exposure for you! A chance to get your work seen! A great piece for your portfolio!" I'm sorry, but as designers our artwork has to pay the bills. You don't tell your plumber "Hey, do this work for free and I'll give you an excellent reference and show people your work and you can include me in your list of clients." It's basically the same thing. We offer a service, we get paid. In the end, I feel that contests and competitions that claim all the rights to your work are only worth it when the prize is worth it. This contest is probably better suited for someone who just Photoshops for fun, not a professional or even a student. Essentially, it's the equivalent of doing Spec Work (creating full artwork when you may not get compensation). The AIGA and Graphic Artist Guild strongly discourage spec work of any kind. But hey, if you don't care about giving up the rights to your poster, then cool, go ahead and enter the contest. But just remember to never undervalue yourself as a designer. Your work is worth paying for. After all, you're putting yourself through this program in order to learn a trade and get paid! That time and investment is worth something in the end.