A brand buys a video, puts it on its product page, and never touches it again. Two years later it is still there.
That is the blind spot of usage rights, and it is more frequent in Italy than elsewhere, because a small company rarely updates its site without a commercial reason.
Duration matters more than price
A six-month licence only makes sense if somebody removes the video after six months. Nobody does, and it is almost never bad faith: the person who put the video online is no longer the same, or does not think about it.
The creator then finds their face on a product page long afterwards, and the exchange that follows is unpleasant for everyone.
Two honest solutions exist. Sell a long duration, and invoice it as such. Or sell a short duration and explicitly plan who removes it, when, and what happens if nobody does.
The agreement is concluded by message, so it must fit in three lines
In a small company there will be no contract, and demanding a ten-page document often loses the job.
Three lines are enough, written in the conversation, before the shoot: the permitted media, the duration, and whether paid advertising is included.
Those three written elements beat a long unread document, and they are accepted without difficulty because they fit in a message.
What changes everything: paid advertising
A video published on the brand's account and a video pushed by an advertising budget are not the same use.
The second reaches a far wider audience, lasts longer, and is broken into variants. It is therefore invoiced separately, always.
It is the line most often discovered too late: the brand thought it was included, the creator thought it was not, and both are in good faith.
What the creator must keep
The original file. They do not hand it over automatically, they hand it over when it is agreed and invoiced.
And the trace of the agreement: the screenshot of the conversation where the three lines were approved. In a world without contracts, that is what constitutes proof.
What the brand must ask for
A version without burnt-in text, to be able to adapt it into another language without paying for another shoot.
Explicit permission to recut the video, if it intends to make several formats. Without that sentence, re-editing a video may fall outside the agreed scope.
And confirmation that the people appearing on screen have given their agreement, which includes relatives, customers or employees filmed in the background. For the obligations applying to your case, the competent authority remains the reference.
What is never included by default
Transfer to another company in the same group. Resale to a distributor. Use on printed material or in store. A modification that changes the meaning of what is said.
Each is negotiated, none is assumed. A brand that wants them asks at the outset, and that always costs less than asking afterwards.
What the brand must check before using
| Point | Why | Where to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Author of the footage | The transfer comes from them | Contract |
| People visible | Each must have consented | Consents |
| Music | A protected track blocks everything | Edit sheet |
What a well-written transfer covers
The channels, the territories, the duration, paid advertising, modification and passing on to a partner.
What is renegotiated when the use changes
One more country, one more channel, one more month: each extension is paid and dated.
The renewal case
It is simpler than the first negotiation: the work is done, the video works, and extending costs less than producing.
Propose it yourself a month before the end date, with a price. It is income many creators let go because they do not track dates, and it is the only income that requires no shoot.
