Most UGC contracts run to two pages. Two lines in them set what the work will earn you, and neither is the fee.
The first: what becomes of the footage
Assignment and licence are not the same word
A licence leaves you the owner and authorises a defined use. An assignment transfers the rights, and you can no longer dispose freely of your own video, sometimes not even show it in your portfolio. Both exist, both can be justified, but they do not have the same price, and the confusion is expensive because it is discovered after signature. The exact qualification depends on the contract and the applicable law, which is checked with a lawyer.
The line about moral rights
Many British contracts include a waiver of moral rights. Concretely, that can allow your video to be modified, recropped, re-edited, the voice changed or your name removed. It is not necessarily abusive, but it has to be seen, understood and taken into account in the price, and its exact effect is checked with a lawyer before signature.
The second: exclusivity
Free for them, expensive for you
Exclusivity forbids you to work with brands in a given category for a given period. It is almost always requested with no consideration, and it is almost always the most expensive clause in the contract, because it deprives you not of one assignment but of every assignment in the category, including those you have not yet received. It becomes acceptable only under three cumulative conditions: a short, written duration, a precise scope naming the category rather than the whole sector, and an amount identified separately from the production price.
The three words that change everything
Six wordings to spot, because they move the boundary without appearing to.
The word including, which extends a use without naming it.
The word similar, which opens the door to media not listed.
The word worldwide, to be distinguished from the territory actually used.
The word media, which often covers far more than social networks.
The word derivatives, which allows new videos to be made from yours.
And the phrase and any other use, which cancels the preceding list in five words.
What is most often missing
Six elements absent from contracts that ought to be in them.
The licence end date, dealt with above.
The number of rounds of corrections included in the price.
The payment term, with what happens in case of delay.
The fate of the unedited rushes, often reused without provision for it.
The right to show the work in your portfolio, to be requested explicitly.
And the contact person on the brand's side, an absence that costs weeks when a problem arises.
What to ask for
Seven reasonable requests, simply put.
An end date, or failing that a duration in months.
The closed list of media where the video will run.
The real territory, rather than a formula covering the world by default.
A separate price for production and for rights.
A separate price for exclusivity, if it is requested.
The right to keep the video in your portfolio.
And a renewal priced in advance, rather than a renegotiation in a year.
How to say it without losing the job
Six formulations that work with a professional buyer.
Asking rather than demanding: does this contract provide for an end date.
Offering a priced alternative to every objection, never a flat refusal.
Treating rights as a normal line in the quote, which is what they are.
Recalling that clarity also protects the brand in the event of an audit.
Replying within twenty-four hours, since slowness costs more than negotiation.
And accepting that some brands will not move, which is information rather than failure.
The clauses that set the real price
| The clause | What it changes | What to read in it |
|---|---|---|
| The scope of rights | The price of the work | Media, territory, term |
| Exclusivity | The ability to work elsewhere | The sector and the duration |
| Revisions | The real working time | The number included |
| Payment | Cash flow | The term and the trigger |
What negotiates worst after signing
The rights duration. Once the video is running and performing, the brand has no reason to pay for an extension, while the creator has no leverage left.
What is systematically reread
Automatic renewal and sub-licensing to third parties. Two discreet lines that turn a three-month assignment into a permanent one, to be confirmed with a lawyer before signing.
When to sign anyway
Five situations where signing stays rational.
When the amount genuinely compensates the duration requested, calculation done and written.
When the brand is a reference that opens other doors, provided you keep the portfolio right.
When exclusivity covers a category you do not work in.
When the duration is short, even if the wording is broad.
And when you have room in your calendar, since a costly clause in a quiet period costs less than an empty slot.
One last marker: a UGC contract is not judged on its tone but on two lines, what becomes of the footage and what you are no longer allowed to do afterwards. This general information does not replace a lawyer's advice, and for any assignment whose amount or duration is significant, professional review always costs less than the clause nobody saw.
Sources
Checked on 27 August 2026. Thresholds and rates change: where this guide and the official source disagree, the official source is right.
