A UGC video wins a test, you want to scale it, and then someone asks the question nobody asked before filming: are we actually allowed to run this, here, for this long, edited like this? If the answer lives in a two-line email from months ago, you have a problem.
Usage rights and disclosure are the unglamorous part of UGC, and they're the part that causes real trouble when they're skipped. The fix is simple in principle. Decide the terms before anyone films, put them in writing, and make sure the ads you run stay inside them.
This isn't legal advice. It's a practical list of what to think about. Rights, copyright and advertising rules vary by situation and jurisdiction, so have a lawyer review your agreements before you rely on them.
Start from the right assumption
Paying for a video doesn't automatically mean you can use it anywhere, forever, in any form. What you can do is whatever your agreement says.
So the safe working assumption is this: unless the agreement says otherwise, the creator owns what they filmed, and you have only the rights you've written down. Every term below is something to write down.
Organic posting vs paid ad usage
These are different permissions, and creators often price them differently.
- Organic rights let you post the content on your own channels, like your brand's Instagram or TikTok feed.
- Paid usage rights let you run the content as an ad, with spend behind it, in front of people who don't follow you.
A creator who agreed to "content for your socials" may not have agreed to paid ads. Spell out which one you're buying, or both.
The terms to agree
| Term | What to decide |
|---|---|
| Duration | How long you can run it, when the clock starts, and what happens when it ends |
| Platforms and channels | Meta, TikTok, YouTube, your website, email, marketplaces, anything offline |
| Edits and derivatives | Whether you can recut, add text, change hooks, pull stills or quotes, or combine it with other footage |
| Whitelisting | Whether it can run from the creator's handle as partnership ads or Spark Ads |
| Exclusivity | Whether the creator can work with competitors, how "competitor" is defined, and for how long |
| Raw files | Whether you receive the raw footage and what you can do with it |
| Renewals | Whether you can extend, on what terms, and how much notice either side needs |
A few of these deserve more detail.
Duration. When usage expires, ads using the content need to come down. Set a reminder before the end date, not on it, so there's time to renew or replace.
Edits and derivatives. Ads get recut constantly. If you plan to swap hooks, cut lengths or turn a quote into a static ad, the agreement should allow it. Turning one UGC video into ten ads shows how much editing a single video can go through.
Whitelisting. Running ads with a creator's identity is a separate permission from using their video on your page. It also raises its own questions about approvals, comments and spend. Running ads from a creator's handle covers those.
Raw files. Raw footage is what makes new versions possible. Agree whether you get it, whether you can use it for new edits after the original term, and who can use it for what.
Customer content you find on social
A customer posting a great video about your product is not the same as permission to run it as an ad.
- Ask first, in writing. Contact the person who posted it, explain exactly how you want to use it, and get a clear yes you can keep on record.
- Make sure they own it. The person who posted it may not have filmed it, or it may include other people who haven't agreed.
- Check everything in the frame. Background music, other people's faces, other brands' logos and artwork can all carry their own rights. Music that's fine in an organic post may not be cleared for ads.
- Agree the same terms. Duration, platforms and edits matter here too. If you're giving them something in return, that's a material connection, which brings disclosure into play.
Disclosure of material connections
If someone in your ad has a connection to your brand that viewers wouldn't expect, that connection generally needs to be disclosed clearly. Material connections include payment, free product, affiliate commissions, discounts and family or employment relationships.
In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides are the main reference. Their core idea is that disclosures should be clear and hard to miss, not buried in a hashtag string or behind a "more" tap. Platform tools such as paid-partnership labels help, but they don't automatically settle the question for every piece of content.
Build disclosure into your briefs and agreements so it isn't left to chance, and have a lawyer confirm your approach.
Testimonials have to reflect real experiences
An endorsement in an ad has to reflect what the person genuinely experienced and believes.
- The creator should actually use the product. Their claims should come from that use.
- Claims still need substantiation. If a creator says something the brand couldn't claim directly, saying it through a creator doesn't make it acceptable.
- Be careful with standout results. If one person's experience isn't what most customers can expect, the ad shouldn't suggest it is.
- Don't put words in their mouth. Key points in a brief are fine. Scripting claims the creator doesn't believe is not.
No fake reviews
This one is simple. Don't write reviews and attribute them to customers. Don't present a paid creator as a random customer who found you on their own. Don't invent testimonials, edit real ones to say something different, or show only the glowing ones in a way that misrepresents what customers think. The FTC has also adopted a rule that specifically addresses fake reviews and testimonials, so this is an area regulators pay attention to.
Beyond the legal exposure, fake proof tends to fall apart when someone looks closely. Real, specific, well-placed proof holds up. Where social proof belongs on a landing page covers using it well.
The short version
- Assume you only have the rights you've written down. Paying for content isn't the same as owning every use of it.
- Agree organic vs paid use, duration, platforms, edits, whitelisting, exclusivity, raw files and renewals before filming.
- Get written permission before running customer content from social, and check everything in the frame.
- Disclose material connections clearly, keep testimonials honest, and never fake reviews.
- This isn't legal advice. Have a lawyer review your agreements and disclosure approach.