You are not selling a video file: you are selling permission to use it, within a precise frame. Everything else in the contract follows from that distinction.
What you are really selling
Three different objects, often merged into one paragraph.
The production work: shooting time, editing, review rounds. It is billed by the day or by the piece.
The licence of use: the right to exploit the video, for a duration, on media, in a territory. It is billed separately.
And your image, if you appear. That is not copyright, it is a personality right, and it follows other rules.
A contract that does not separate those three lines always ends up being argued over, generally at the worst moment.
The variables that set the licence price
Four, and they combine.
Duration: three months, six months, one year, unlimited. Each step has a price.
Media: creator's account, brand's account, paid advertising, shop site, marketplace, in-store screens, press.
Territory: Spain, the Spanish-speaking market, the world. A brand that exports must say so.
And exclusivity: the ban on working for a competitor for a given period. It is the most expensive variable and the most often requested without being paid for.
The five lines that avoid every dispute
They fit in one paragraph, and are copied from one contract to the next.
The precise description of the deliverables: number of videos, lengths, formats, languages.
The named list of authorised uses.
The start date and the end date of the licence, rather than a floating duration.
The number of revisions included and the price of the next one.
And the payment terms: advance, due date, late penalty.
Add a sixth line when the subject allows: the price agreed in advance for a renewal.
The "perpetual and worldwide" that always comes back
It is the most frequent request, and it is not illegitimate: a brand wants to avoid tracking expiry dates on three hundred files.
Two possible answers, and only one bad one.
The good one: accept, and charge what it is worth, that is clearly more than a one-year licence.
The other good one: propose a long duration with automatic renewal and a known price.
The bad one: accept without changing the price, because the video seems to cost nothing to keep. It will go on running for years.
What each document covers
| Document | What it settles | When it is signed |
|---|---|---|
| The accepted quote | Price, content, date | Before the shoot |
| The rights licence | Media, duration, territory | With the quote |
| The image release | The people filmed | On the day of the shoot |
What is most often missing
The third-party release. A friend, a child or an employee filmed without a written form makes the video unusable, and it is discovered at release time.
What is re-read before signing
Automatic renewal, transfer to a third party, the exclusivity clause and the fate of the source files, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
Your image and your work
That is the least understood part, and it counts as much as the rest.
Your face and your voice fall under a separate consent, given for precise uses, whose scope is discussed just like the licence.
The rights attached to authorship are not transferred in the same way as exploitation. A brand re-editing a video to the point of distorting it, or using it in a context you would not have accepted, opens a different discussion.
These rules depend on the content, the contract and the situation, and are checked with a lawyer before signing rather than after publication.
Sources
- Agencia Tributaria, Spanish tax authority
- Spanish Social Security, self-employed registration (RETA)
Checked on 4 September 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
