Set the terms in writing before filming: deliverables, revisions, price, and above all usage rights. What they cover, how to invoice them, and what should make you decline.
Why the writing comes before the shoot
Because after delivery the discussion no longer has the same balance of power: the video exists, the brand needs it, and you find yourself negotiating a licence over work already done. Five lines written before the shoot prevent almost every dispute observed afterwards.
The seven terms to confirm before every shoot
Seven points, in the same message.
The number of deliverables and their format.
The length of each video.
The number of revisions included.
The delivery date and the feedback turnaround you expect.
The price and the payment date.
The usage rights and their duration.
And who supplies the product, and when.
What usage rights cover
Seven dimensions, to write separately.
The type of use, organic or advertising.
The duration, with an end date.
The territory, country by country or by zone.
The media: social, website, store, television.
The right to edit, crop, subtitle.
The right to run from the creator's own account.
And exclusivity, if it is requested.
Organic and advertising, two different things
A video posted on the brand's account and a video pushed with an advertising budget have neither the same reach nor the same value. An agreement mentioning only organic does not cover paid advertising. It is the most frequent point of disagreement, and it is settled in one line written before the shoot.
The most common licence durations
Six duration formats.
Three months, for an advertising test.
Six months, for a season.
Twelve months, for an annual campaign.
A duration tied to one specific launch.
A tacit renewal, to avoid without a written price.
And an unlimited duration, invoiced as such.
What a territory changes
Six markers.
One country, for a local brand.
One language zone, for a regional campaign.
One continent, for a brand expanding.
The whole world, which multiplies the value.
An explicit exclusion of certain countries.
And a possible extension, priced in advance.
How to invoice extended rights
Seven pricing principles.
Start from the production price as the base.
Add a percentage per duration bracket.
Add a percentage per additional territory.
Invoice advertising use separately.
Invoice running from your own account separately.
Set a renewal price in advance.
And refuse a flat fee that covers everything with no limit.
What exclusivity costs
Six things to price.
The period during which you cannot work elsewhere.
The precise list of competitors covered.
The estimated lost income over that period.
The exact category concerned, not the whole sector.
The territory the exclusivity covers.
And the option to end it, with notice.
The warning signs that mean decline
Seven situations not to accept.
Worldwide perpetual rights at a testimonial rate.
No payment before the video runs.
Unlimited revisions.
A transfer of ownership slipped into a sentence.
Pressure to leave a protected platform.
A brief that changes after delivery.
And a contact who refuses to write anything down.
The clauses to have specified
Seven often too-vague phrasings.
All media, with no list.
All territories, with no exclusion.
Indefinite duration.
Use for promotional purposes.
Right of modification with no limit.
Assignment of all economic rights.
And automatic renewal with no price.
What must never be agreed by voice message
Six agreements that must stay written.
An extension of duration.
An added territory.
A move to advertising use.
An exclusivity.
A change of price.
And a change to the number of deliverables.
What happens if the brand runs outside the licence
The first reflex is not legal, it is documentary: a dated screenshot, the link to the placement, a written reminder of the terms accepted. What follows depends on the applicable law and the sums involved, and that is the moment to consult a lawyer rather than a forum. In most cases observed, a polite written reminder is enough, because the overrun is an oversight, not a strategy.
How to restart an expired licence
Six steps.
Spot the end date three weeks ahead.
Write to the brand before expiry.
Recall how the video performed.
Offer a renewal price.
Offer an alternative, a new video.
And set a new end date.
What to keep in your file
Six items, in the same place.
The accepted quote, dated.
The final brief.
The written exchange about rights.
The actual delivery date.
The invoice and its payment date.
And the licence end date.
The questions to ask when a quote is vague
Seven questions, asked all at once.
On which media will the video run.
From what date and until when.
In which countries.
Will there be an advertising budget behind it.
Will the video be edited or cropped.
Will it run from my own account.
And is a renewal considered, at what price.
The checklist before filming
Seven checks, in five minutes.
The deliverables are counted.
The revisions are capped.
The price is written down.
The payment date is written down.
The use is qualified, organic or advertising.
The duration carries an end date.
And the territory is named.
The four boundaries any contract must carry
| The boundary | What it fixes | The common flaw |
|---|---|---|
| The object | The exact files delivered | A vague phrase |
| The media | Social, advertising, website, in-store | One catch-all word |
| The territory | The countries of release | Worldwide with no reason |
| The term | An end date | A perpetual assignment |
What stays with the creator regardless
The right to be credited and the right to object to a change that distorts the video. Those two are not for sale, whatever the contract's wording.
What is reread before signing
Automatic renewal, sub-licensing to third parties and the exclusivity clause. Each is priced separately, to be confirmed with a lawyer before signing and not after.
What a marketplace order frames
On UGC MATCH, joining is free and there is no subscription: the accepted terms, the brief and the delivery date stay attached to the order. The brand pays at ordering, the funds are not released straight away, and payment goes out on approval. The platform retains 10% of the price on the creator side, who therefore keeps 90%, and charges the brand a 6% service fee, with a minimum of 1.50 EUR. That does not replace your own vigilance on rights, but it leaves a trail nobody rewrites afterwards.
One last marker: a UGC creator's contract fits on one page. If the document runs to ten pages and the duration is not in it, that is not a contract, it is a drafting trap.
Sources
- Urssaf, official auto-entrepreneur portal
- Service Public, how to become a micro-entrepreneur
- Service Public, crossing the micro-entrepreneur turnover thresholds
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
