Channels, duration, territory and image rights: here are the five lines that count double when the creator is abroad.
The five points to put in writing
Five lines, and they suffice for the vast majority of orders.
The channels: on which media the video may be published, distinguishing organic posts from paid advertising.
The duration: an end date, not an open formula. One year is a readable standard, six months suits a test.
The territory: the countries where publication is authorised. That is the line most often absent, and the most expensive when the campaign expands.
Image rights: the agreement of the person filmed for the use of their face and voice, distinct from the assignment on the file.
And modifications: what the brand may recut, subtitle, dub or re-edit without a new agreement.
A sixth point, often useful: what happens at the end. Renewal at the same price, renegotiation, or withdrawal of the videos.
What is added when the creator is abroad
Four extra points, all concrete.
The status under which the creator invoices, and the documents your accounting will require to book the expense.
The payment route: international transfer, payment platform, or going through a marketplace. Each has its fees and its delays, and they are stated beforehand.
Any withholding at source, which varies by country and is checked with an accountant before the order.
And the language of the contract: an agreement signed in a language one of the parties reads badly is not a solid agreement.
One note on method: those four points are not obstacles, they are lead times. Handled at quotation, they add a day. Discovered at invoicing, they add three weeks.
The two most expensive mistakes
The first: buying "all rights, all media, in perpetuity" by reflex.
That formula raises the price for no reason in nine cases out of ten, because a campaign video stops being used long before. It also creates needless resistance among creators, who often prefer a clear duration to a total assignment.
The second: forgetting the image rights of people visible on screen.
The contract covers the file and the person who shot it. A friend, a child, a customer, a recognisable passer-by in the frame come under separate authorisations, signed on the day of the shoot. Those rules are checked with a lawyer, and they apply whatever the creator's country.
The four parameters that set the price
| Parameter | What it opens | What makes it costlier |
|---|---|---|
| The media | Social, website, in store, television | Every added channel |
| The duration | From three months to unlimited | Unlimited, always |
| The territory | A country, a region, the world | Going worldwide |
| Exclusivity | Turning down competitors | The length of the period |
What is read before signing
The automatic renewal clause, the one allowing the rights to pass to a third party, and the fate of the source files once the period ends.
What stays with the creator after the licence
Authorship and the right to object to a modification that distorts the edit, unless otherwise agreed in writing, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
What really suffices
Three documents, and the essentials are covered.
A purchase order taking up the five lines above, on one page.
An image release signed by every visible person, with the same end date as the rights.
And a proof of payment kept with the invoice, in the same folder as the delivered files.
One organisational habit avoiding bad surprises: name the files with the end date of the rights. The day somebody looks for a video to reuse two years later, the information is in front of them, and nobody needs to find the contract.
One last marker: an agreement by email, clear and explicitly accepted, is worth more than a ten-page contract nobody reads. What counts is not the length, it is that the five lines are there, and that both parties understood them the same way.
