When Kirstin Bird-Lamoureux wanted to plan her daughter’s ninth birthday party, she thought of iSaute.
The popular trampoline centre recently opened a new location in Kirkland, and the mother of three thought it would be a perfect place to celebrate.
“Before I gave the deposit, I had to sign a waiver,” said Bird-Lamoureux. “In that waiver, it said that pictures, any pictures that were taken on the premise could be used for their social media and for their advertisements.”
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In a section of iSaute’s waiver, it reads: “I assign the rights to iSaute to use my likeness and image or that of the Minor Child in its publications on its website, in promotional and marketing tools or in any other media, whether it be digital or printed or other and this, without any form of payment or compensation or need for any other approval or consent and I release all rights to iSaute pertaining to the said Footage.”
Bird-Lamoureux says, the parents of her daughter’s friends would also be asked to sign that waiver, and she wasn’t comfortable with that.
“The manager said, if I refused to sign the section on the pictures then the waiver would not continue — I couldn’t move it the next page — so it’s null and void,” she said.
That means, she couldn’t host the party at iSaute.
ISaute co-owner, Natalie Lundquist is defending the waiver.
She said the photography clause serves as a protection for them, their employees and their customers.
“We have thousands of customers that come through our parks on a daily basis and everyone is taking pictures and posting them on social media,” she said. “We can’t control what pictures are being taken of who, we can’t control who has given those rights and who hasn’t. So this is the easiest way for us as a business, employees and customers, to make sure everyone is protected.”
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Lundquist says if iSaute wants to take photos or video, they always make sure to get additional consent from their clients on top of the waiver.
Commercial lawyer, Michael Vathilakis says, as a private business, iSaute can put together whatever waiver they want, and the user always has the right to go to a different facility. But he still questions the clause.
“It’s an odd clause, in that you’re denying someone the right to jump or use your facility because they don’t want to be in your publication or video,” he said. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
Regardless, Bird-Lamoureux said she and her family have decided to throw her daughter a pool party at their house instead.
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