UGC Usage Rights and Contracts in Brazil

Which usage rights and licences brands have to agree with UGC creators in Brazil, plus the basics of data protection and image rights.

What a usage right really means

Seven elements that make up permission to use a video.

The medium, meaning the exact place the video may appear.

The duration, with its starting point, dealt with above.

The territory, often forgotten and yet decisive for export.

Exclusivity, which is never included by default.

The right to modify, crop or re-edit the video.

The right to transfer the licence to a third party, distributor or marketplace.

And the fate of the unedited rushes, which do not automatically follow the edit.

Two distinct permissions

Six practical consequences of a distinction many contracts ignore.

Permission to use the video and permission to exploit a person's image are not the same thing.

The second concerns every recognisable person, not only the creator.

It requires its own written agreement, with its own duration.

It does not pass to a third party without a new agreement.

It also applies to the voice, often forgotten.

And its exact framework is checked with a lawyer, this remaining general information.

Organic or paid use, and running from the creator's account

Seven distinctions to write down in black and white.

Use on the brand's accounts, ordinary publication.

Use in paid advertising, which is invoiced separately.

Distribution from the creator's account, which commits their reputation and not only their production.

Use on the product page, often the most durable.

Use on marketplaces, whose own terms may differ.

Use by retailers, to be authorised explicitly.

And use in store, on screen or in a window, regularly forgotten.

Image rights, simply explained

Seven points to know, all to be confirmed with a lawyer.

A person's face is not transferred like a file.

The agreement has to specify uses, duration and territory.

An agreement signed for one campaign does not cover the next.

People visible in the background are a separate question.

A minor falls under a particular framework, with the legal guardian's agreement.

Withdrawal has to be possible, and its execution time written down.

And the death or unavailability of the person is dealt with in the contract, which almost nobody provides for.

The basics of data protection for brands

Seven simple reflexes, whose exact application is checked with a lawyer.

Collecting only the data necessary to perform the contract.

Telling the creator what is kept, where, and for how long.

Securing bank details and identity documents, never exchanged through ordinary messaging.

Not passing personal data to a third party without a basis and without informing.

Providing for deletion of the data at the end of the relationship.

Treating images of people as data, which is what they are.

And designating somebody responsible for these questions, even in a small organisation.

How the price splits between production and rights

Seven markers that make the negotiation readable on both sides.

The production price pays for the shoot, the edit and the corrections.

The rights price pays for the use, and is calculated separately.

A short local licence costs less than a long worldwide one.

Use in paid advertising is always invoiced on top.

Exclusivity is priced separately, never thrown in to round a figure.

An extension is calculated on the rights price, not the production price.

And a single all-in price makes any renegotiation impossible, which serves neither party.

The questions to ask before signing

Six questions that avoid most nasty surprises.

Where exactly the video will run, countries included.

For how long, and starting when.

Who will be able to modify it, and how far.

Who else will be able to republish it, retailers included.

What becomes of the content at the end of the licence.

And who to contact to request removal.

What a simple written agreement has to cover

Seven lines are enough for most assignments.

The full identity of both parties.

The description of the service and the number of videos.

The price, split between production and rights.

The media, duration and territory of the licence.

The agreement on image and voice, with its right of withdrawal.

The number of corrections included and the schedule.

And the payment terms, with the due date.

What happens at the end of the licence

Six consequences few contracts provide for.

The brand has to stop all distribution, including paid advertising.

The files have to be removed from the listed media, within a written deadline.

Content picked up by third parties remains a point to handle explicitly.

Renewal is negotiated before the end, not after.

The renewal price is best set in the first contract.

And a failure to remove constitutes unauthorised use, which is checked with a lawyer.

The most frequent mistakes

Six situations that come up constantly.

An agreement concluded only in messaging, with no summary document.

A licence with no territory, when the brand sells abroad.

Exclusivity granted verbally and never priced.

Rushes sent without their use being defined.

A video republished by a retailer with no agreement.

And a duration with no starting point, dealt with above.

The four boundaries that set the price

What happens when nothing is written

The brand assumes it can do everything, the creator assumes the opposite, and the disagreement surfaces the day the video appears as an ad. Four lines in the quote avoid that scenario entirely.

What can be bought back later, and at what price

Everything, but for more. An extension negotiated on a performing video costs more than a broad term bought at the start, to be confirmed with a lawyer before signing.

What to keep

Five documents to retain, on both sides.

The signed contract and any amendments.

The final brief, which defines the scope.

The image agreements of everybody visible.

The exchanges validating sensitive wordings.

And the actual removal date at the end of the licence.

One last marker: in Brazil as elsewhere, most disputes come not from bad faith but from a missing line. Medium, duration with a starting point, territory, image and withdrawal: five elements, one page, and almost every disagreement disappears before it exists.