UGC usage rights describe how a brand may use your content: where, for how long and with which changes. Meta partnership-ad permission is a separate platform control that can let a brand advertise using your creator identity. Agree the content rights and compensation in writing before handing over the file or granting access.
“We'd like to boost your video” sounds like a small request. It leaves several questions unanswered. Which video? On whose account? For a week or indefinitely? Can the brand change what you say? Does the original fee cover the requested use?
This guide gives you questions to take into that conversation. It is general information, not legal advice or a ready-to-sign contract. The copyright examples use U.S. law; other jurisdictions, contracts and platform rules can differ. Get qualified advice for your particular agreement, especially before granting broad or permanent rights.
Separate ownership, usage and account permission
These are connected, but one does not automatically settle the others.
| Question | What you are deciding |
|---|---|
| Who owns the content? | Copyright ownership and any valid transfer or work-made-for-hire arrangement |
| How may the brand use it? | The licence or other agreement covering channels, duration, edits and other uses |
| May the brand advertise through your identity on Meta? | The relevant Meta partnership-ad permission, subject to eligibility and platform rules |
Under U.S. copyright law, copyright initially belongs to the author, with exceptions. A qualifying work made for hire is one important exception. The U.S. Copyright Office's explanation distinguishes employees' work within the scope of employment from specially commissioned work. A commissioned work must fall within an eligible statutory category, and the parties must expressly agree in a signed writing that it is a work made for hire. A separate copyright transfer is a different arrangement.
That is why “the brand paid me, so it owns everything” and “I filmed it, so I always own everything” are both unsafe assumptions. Read what the agreement says and get advice when the ownership language is unclear.
A limited licence and an ownership transfer are different arrangements. A Meta permission setting is not a substitute for working out which arrangement you agreed to.
Brand-account ads and partnership ads are different requests
A brand may want to upload your video and run it from its own identity. It still needs appropriate rights to the content and other elements used in the ad.
In the independent creator-brand arrangements covered here, a Meta partnership ad uses the partner's identity and requires the relevant permission. Meta's documentation distinguishes content-level and account-level permissions.
Content-level permission: particular content
A partnership-ad code can let an advertiser create ads using the specific content associated with that code. It is not a blanket commercial agreement covering every video you have made.
Ask which post or asset the request concerns and which advertiser will use it. Check that the written deal covers the actual use, not just an informal exchange of a code.
Account-level permission: broader access
Meta's account-level guidance explains that this permission can allow a partner to create ads from your handle without a pre-existing post.
That is a broader request than permission for one piece of published content. Before accepting, agree which creative can be used and whether you must approve new versions. Do not assume the platform's permission settings enforce every limit in your contract.
You do not need to hand someone your password or two-factor authentication codes to discuss a partnership. Use Meta's documented permission flow and check the identity of the requesting business.
Eligibility still applies
A brand's invitation does not guarantee that your account qualifies.
Meta's eligibility requirements include an authentic, established presence and a sufficient follower base, alongside other requirements. Check the current rules and your account's status. There is no universal follower-count promise in this guide.
Producing a usable video and being eligible to run partnership ads are separate questions. You can start demonstrating your production skills with a clearly labelled spec portfolio without claiming platform eligibility.
The deal checklist: twelve questions before you agree
These are negotiation prompts, not a list of terms automatically required or supplied by Meta.
1. Which assets are included?
Name the video, version, hook variations and any still images. If you made three videos and the brand wants paid use of one, identify that one.
A filename or shared approval record is easier to check later than “the content from our campaign.”
2. Where can they be used?
Distinguish paid advertising from organic posts. Name the platforms and accounts included, and clarify whether website, email, retailer or other distribution is covered.
Do not treat “digital usage” as self-explanatory. It can conceal a much broader request than the conversation suggested.
3. When does the licence start and end?
“Three months” needs a start trigger. Does it begin at delivery, payment, the first organic post or the first paid impression?
If it begins on first use, agree how you will learn that date and how long the brand has to start. Otherwise, the apparent three-month deal may leave you waiting indefinitely for the clock to begin.
4. Which territories are included?
Ask where the brand intends to target advertising and what the agreement says about availability elsewhere. An ad-targeting choice and a legal territorial restriction are not automatically the same thing.
5. What edits are allowed?
Decide whether the brand may crop, subtitle, shorten or rearrange your video. Ask about new voiceovers, translations, altered claims and synthetic versions of your voice or likeness.
A sensible boundary to discuss is that an edit must not turn your genuine statement into an endorsement you did not make. Put the approval process for meaningful changes in writing.
6. Are raw footage and project files included?
A finished export is not the same deliverable as every clip from the shoot. Raw footage can enable many new versions.
If you agree to supply it, specify the files, permitted uses and compensation. Clarify whether unused takes or editable project files are included rather than discovering that expectation after the shoot.
7. Does the brand want exclusivity?
Ask which competing products or companies are covered, for how long and in which territory. Clarify whether the restriction concerns paid collaborations, organic mentions or both.
“Beauty exclusivity” is a much wider restriction than excluding named competing lip products for a defined period. Consider the work you could be unable to accept before agreeing to the fee.
8. Must you publish on your own account?
Content production, posting and partnership-ad access are different obligations. Specify any post format, deadline, required live period and disclosure expectations.
Do not assume that “UGC” means no posting. Do not let a brand assume that sending a finished file means you also agreed to publish it.
9. What pays for the work and what pays for usage?
An offer may bundle production and a defined licence into one figure, or price them separately. Either way, the scope should be visible.
There is no universal usage-rights percentage established by this guide. Assess the duration, channels, edits, exclusivity and other restrictions alongside the workload. For performance-linked pay, read our flat-fee, commission and hybrid comparison and ask what happens if the video never runs or earns no qualifying sales.
10. How does renewal work?
Decide whether the brand must request an extension and agree a fee before the term ends. Look for automatic renewal, perpetual use or rights that survive the end of the wider relationship.
If the licence is indefinite, do not evaluate it as though it expires after a short campaign.
11. Can you show the work in your portfolio?
Clarify whether you may display the final video, when it becomes public and how you can describe the relationship. Ask separately before sharing campaign results or confidential performance screenshots.
12. What happens when use should stop?
Agree who stops active ads, removes or archives covered posts, handles copies supplied to agencies or partners, and confirms completion. Decide how an urgent complaint or unauthorised edit will be raised.
Match that process to the written licence and the relevant platform controls. A contract expiry date does not necessarily operate an automatic switch in an advertiser's account.
Important: disabling an ad code does not stop an existing ad
This is easy to get wrong.
Meta's stop-ad guidance says that turning off a partnership-ad code prevents new ads being created with it, but ads already active with the code continue running.
The same guidance distinguishes other actions:
| Action | Documented effect |
|---|---|
| Turn off a partnership-ad code | Prevents new ads using the code; existing active ads continue |
| Revoke account-level partnership permission | Pauses ads currently running under that permission |
| Use the individual ad's Stop control | Stops the selected active partnership ad |
Use Meta's current instructions for your account and permission type; menus and available controls can change.
Do not rely on “I'll turn off the code after 30 days” as your entire expiry plan. Agree the brand's responsibilities, keep the asset and ad details needed to identify the use, and check that active delivery has stopped.
Also keep the legal question separate: a platform action does not, by itself, tell you whether a contractual licence has ended or whether stopping delivery complies with your agreement. If there is a dispute, get appropriate advice rather than assuming the setting resolves it.
A message you can send before granting paid usage
Adapt this to the actual request. It is a discussion prompt, not a contract:
Thanks for asking about paid usage. Before I agree, can you confirm:
- The exact video/version and advertiser using it.
- The platforms, accounts and territories included.
- Whether this is a brand-account ad or a Meta partnership ad through my identity.
- The licence start trigger, end date and renewal process.
- Any edits, raw footage, exclusivity or posting obligations you need.
- The agreed payment terms and whether this usage is already included.
- Which Meta permission you need, if any, and how active ads will be stopped when the agreed use ends.
Please include these points in the written agreement so we are working from the same scope.
That response does not reject the opportunity. It turns an unclear request into something you can assess.
Disclosures and truthful claims still matter
Permission to advertise is not permission to say anything.
For U.S.-facing endorsements, the FTC's guidance explains when a material connection needs disclosure. Its influencer guide covers payment, gifts and other connections, clear placement and truthful experience.
U.S. law can apply to posts made abroad when it is reasonably foreseeable that they will affect U.S. consumers; other countries' laws may also apply.
Where disclosure is required for a video endorsement, put it in the video rather than relying only on the description. Do not assume a built-in platform label is sufficient in every context. The FTC says responsibility rests with the brand and endorser, not just the platform.
Check the approved final version after edits. A cutdown that removes the disclosure, changes your meaning or adds an unsupported claim creates a different problem from whether the brand had access to run the ad.
Common questions
Is whitelisting the same as UGC usage rights?
People use “whitelisting” loosely for advertising through a creator's account or identity. Ask what permission and platform they mean. It is not a complete description of the content licence, duration, edits or payment terms.
Does an ad code transfer copyright to the brand?
The code is a Meta permission mechanism, not a substitute for a copyright agreement. Ownership and licensing depend on the agreement and applicable law.
Can a brand run my video without posting it to my feed?
Meta documents account-level partnership permissions that can allow new ads without a pre-existing post. That does not mean every account is eligible or that any proposed creative is allowed. Check the request, written scope and current platform rules.
What should I charge for paid usage?
This guide does not offer a universal rate. Assess the requested scope and restrictions rather than copying an unsupported percentage. A short, specific licence and perpetual multi-channel rights are different offers. For a starting range, our free UGC rate calculator estimates a fee from the usage period, ads from your account and other terms.
Know what you are saying yes to
Before sharing a code or granting broader access, identify the asset, the use, the duration and the pay. Make sure the written terms and the platform permission both fit that agreement.
Myah is building a performance-UGC marketplace for brands and creators. Join creator early access for updates from Myah. Early access does not guarantee campaigns or earnings, and a marketplace signup does not replace reviewing each deal's terms.
