When you deliver a video, you are not delivering a file: you are delivering a permission to use it. In France that permission breaks down into two distinct rights, and confusing them is expensive.
The two rights you license
Your authorship rights over the work. The script, the framing, the edit: it is a creation, and its use is licensed in writing, for a defined duration, territory and set of media.
Your image rights. Your face and your voice belong to you. Licensing them is a separate authorisation that deserves its own line in the contract.
Many agency contracts blend the two into a single sentence. Separating them is not paranoia: it is what lets you limit the use of your face in time, even when the use of the video is broader.
What sets the licence price
| Licence point | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Medium | Organic, paid media, website, point of sale, television. |
| Duration | Three months, six months, a year, perpetual. |
| Territory | France, Europe, worldwide. |
| Exclusivity | If you cannot work with competitors, that is paid for. |
| Whitelisting | If the brand runs ads from your account, that is another product. |
The same video can be worth two hundred euros for organic use and six hundred if it runs for six months in advertising. That is standard industry practice.
The five lines that prevent every dispute
- What is delivered: number of pieces, duration, formats, language.
- How many rounds of changes are included and what an extra one costs.
- Where the material may run, for how long and in which territory.
- Price before tax, tax wording and payment date.
- What happens if the project is cancelled after filming.
The vast majority of disputes come from one of those five lines being missing.
The "perpetual, all media, worldwide" clause
It is the standard clause in French agency contracts. There is nothing illegitimate about it, but it has a price: two to three times a six month licence.
Do not refuse it, price it. An agency asking for it knows perfectly well what it is worth.
Advertising transparency
In France, commercial communication must be identifiable as such. That is the advertiser's responsibility when they run the video, but a creator who mentions it in their deliverables reassures a brand immediately.
Also avoid health claims and unverifiable numerical results: the legal risk falls on the brand, and it knows it.
Where to go next
Understanding rights turns one delivery into two sources of income. Our guide on how to become a UGC creator covers the rest of the craft.
