Group disqualified after copyright infringement claim,

[Wilhelm]

They were the winners of a "content creation and marketing" competition, and had won a $7,000 grant to create their own "content solution" to pitch to their brand of choice.

But on Wednesday, four days after winning, their entry was disqualified.

The reason: The video which accompanied their entry of Singapore's first mermaid Syrena, whose real name is Ms Cara Nicole Neo, was made using footage obtained without permission.

Now, both their title and grant have been revoked over claims of copyright infringement.

The team of 10 students and professionals who called themselves Magnificent 7, had participated in the Creator Collective, a 10-week programme.

It was organised by Brand New Media (BNM) and the Info-communications Media Development Authority, and supported by Singapore Press Holdings and the Asia Content Marketing Association.

As part of the competition, 70 participants were divided into groups of 10 and given mock situation briefs by brand partners for which they had to present solutions to.

Tasked to help raise awareness for the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) latest campaign, Passion Made Possible, Magnificent 7 chose to tell the story of Singapore's first mermaid.

They went on to produce a video supposedly showcasing Syrena's life as a mermaid. It included underwater footage which Syrena had earlier sent the team.

Ms Neo, 26, told The New Paper she had sent the group her underwater footage believing it was for an official STB campaign.

When the group later clarified that no part of their work was going public, she pulled out as she felt she had been deceived.

However, Magnificent 7 went ahead to use her footage anyway.

Ms Neo said: "No one had given their approval to be featured in the video. I had no knowledge that the video even existed."

The video was taken down immediately after BNM was alerted to the claims of copyright infringement on Monday by the group. Magnificent 7 then issued an apology.

A representative from BNM also released a statement outlining its wish to "acknowledge that a mistake (had) been made", as well as an apology to Ms Neo. Via Facebook, Ms Neo said she has accepted both the group and BNM's apologies.