Creator usage rights and whitelisting clause template

Which rights are you actually asking for?

"Usage rights" and "whitelisting" get used loosely. Name each right separately in the contract, because each has its own price and its own platform mechanic.

What does Kiko agree by default?

How do Meta Partnership Ads and TikTok Spark Ads permissions work?

Platform permission and contract rights are separate. The platform controls whether an ad can run. The contract controls whether it may run. Either side can switch off the platform permission whatever the contract says, so the contract has to cover what happens then.

Meta Partnership Ads (Facebook and Instagram)

TikTok Spark Ads

What this means for the contract:

• Match the code to the term. For Kiko's 90-day term, ask for a 60-day code at posting and a 30-day code before it expires. A 365-day default request gives you more platform access than you have paid for.
• Write the caption before authorization. On TikTok it can't change afterwards.
• Say what happens if the creator revokes early. Kiko's default is one replacement post of equal scope.
• Say what happens if you stop early. Kiko's default: the fees are still owed in full.
• Keep the post live. The creator doesn't delete or archive the post during the term.

The template

This is Kiko's standard clause, with Kiko's defaults filled in. Copy it into your contract draft, replace the curly braces, and delete options you don't use.

USAGE RIGHTS AND CREATOR-HANDLE ADVERTISING

1. Definitions
   "Content" means the deliverables listed in the brief dated {YYYY-MM-DD}.
   "Organic Use" means posting or resharing the Content on Brand-owned accounts without paid distribution.
   "Paid Use" means distributing the Content as paid advertising from Brand-owned accounts.
   "Creator-Handle Ads" means paid advertising that displays Creator's account identity,
   including Meta Partnership Ads and TikTok Spark Ads.
   "Term" means the period in Section 3 for each right.

2. Grant
   Creator grants Brand a non-exclusive licence to use the Content as follows:
   [x] Organic Use on Brand-owned accounts on: {platforms}
   [x] Paid Use on: Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and TikTok
   [x] Creator-Handle Ads on: Meta (Facebook, Instagram) and TikTok
   [x] Edits: Brand may make cut-downs, add captions, subtitles, end cards, CTA overlays and new
       opening hooks, and combine clips with other Brand footage, provided edits do not change
       the meaning of anything Creator says or present it out of context.
   [x] Raw footage: Creator will deliver unedited files within 5 business days of posting.
   Brand may not use Creator's name, image or voice outside the Content without Creator's written approval.

3. Term and territory
   Organic Use: perpetual, from first posting.
   Paid Use: 90 days from first ad delivery.
   Creator-Handle Ads: 90 days from first ad delivery.
   Territory: United States.
   After the Term, Brand will stop new paid delivery within 2 business days. Organic posts made
   during the Term may remain, unless Section 8 applies.

4. Platform permissions
   Within 3 business days of posting, Creator will:
   (a) Meta: approve Brand's partnership ad request or provide a partnership ad code for each post; and
   (b) TikTok: generate a Spark Ads authorization code with a 60-day authorization period, and a
       second code with a 30-day period at least 3 business days before the first expires.
   Creator will keep each post public and will not delete, archive or un-authorize it during the
   Term, except under Section 8. Brand will not request platform permission longer than the Term.
   Brand will write any ad caption before authorization where the platform does not allow later edits.

5. Fees
   Content fee: {$___}. The rights in Sections 2 and 3 are included in the content fee.
   [ ] Optional ad-spend cap: Brand's paid spend behind Creator-Handle Ads will not exceed {$___}
       without Creator's written approval.
   [x] Extension: Brand may extend Paid Use and Creator-Handle Ads by 90 days for 25% of the
       content fee, by written notice before the Term ends.
   Payment terms: net 15 days from invoice.

6. Disclosure
   Creator will disclose the relationship in the Content itself and use each platform's branded content
   or paid partnership setting. Brand will keep the platform's paid partnership label on Creator-Handle
   Ads and will not remove or obscure disclosures when editing the Content.

7. Claims and accuracy
   Brand is responsible for substantiating product claims it asks Creator to make or adds in edits.
   Brand will not run the Content if it has reason to believe it no longer reflects Creator's honest
   views or experience of the product, and Creator will tell Brand promptly if that is the case.

8. Early termination
   (a) Creator may withdraw platform permission for Creator-Handle Ads early, by written notice, only
       for safety concerns, a material change to the product, or Brand's breach. Brand will stop
       delivery within 2 business days. Brand's remedy: one replacement post of equal scope.
   (b) Brand may stop Paid Use or Creator-Handle Ads at any time. The fees remain payable in full.
   (c) Either party may require removal within 2 business days if the Content breaches
       law or platform policy.

9. Exclusivity (optional)
   [ ] For 30 days from first posting, Creator will not create paid content for: {up to 3 named
       direct competitors}. Exclusivity fee: 15% of the content fee.

10. Comments and moderation
   Brand may hide comments on Creator-Handle Ads that are spam, abusive or break platform rules.
   Brand will not hide or delete other comments, and will not reply as Creator.

11. Records
   Brand may keep copies of the Content and ads after the Term for legal, compliance and archive purposes only.

12. Governing law and other terms
   This clause is governed by the laws of the State of New York.

How do you use this template?

1. Agree the rights before the content fee. Usage, creator-handle ads and exclusivity change the price. Settle them in the same negotiation, not after the post goes live. For pricing context, see the uplift tables on the rate benchmark pages.
2. Keep the defaults unless you need more. A 90-day creator-handle term is easier to agree than perpetual paid use.
3. Set the platform steps in the brief too. Add the code or permission deadline to the app demo creator brief so the creator sees it before recording.
4. Check the code period when it arrives. On TikTok, confirm the authorization period matches Section 4 before you build the campaign.
5. Diary the end date. Paid delivery has to stop within 2 business days of day 90, and someone has to own that.
6. Send it to your lawyer. Especially Sections 7, 8 and 12, and for regulated products (finance, health, products for minors).

What if a creator won't approve whitelisting?

Offer a smaller version of the same thing, or a different mechanic.

Questions for your lawyer

These are the points we'd raise with counsel. They come from the primary sources below.

• The FTC says an endorsement may not be "presented out of context or reworded so as to distort" the endorser's views (16 CFR § 255.1(b)). Does our edits clause (Section 2) stay inside that?
• Under § 255.1(c), an advertiser can keep running an endorsement only while it has good reason to believe the endorser still holds those views. How do we check that during the term (Section 7)?
• Under § 255.1(d), an advertiser can be liable for a deceptive endorsement even when the endorser isn't. Who reviews claims added in ad edits?
• Do Sections 3 and 8 work in every territory we run ads in, including any rules on name and likeness?
• For finance, health or other restricted categories, does the platform's branded content policy allow creator-handle ads at all? See TikTok's policy.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a template for creator usage rights and whitelisting for Spark Ads?

Yes. The clause on this page covers Spark Ads and Meta Partnership Ads, plus organic and paid usage from the brand's own account, with Kiko's defaults filled in. Have a lawyer review it before use.

What usage-rights terms should we include before running creator content as Meta Partnership Ads?

Name the right (creator-handle ads), the platforms, the term, the territory, permitted edits, how and when the creator grants permission, a spend cap if any, and what happens if either side stops early. Meta's documentation says the creator approves partnership ad requests or shares a code, and Instagram's help page says partners can revoke permission at any time.

How long should usage rights last?

Kiko's default is 90 days of paid usage and creator-handle ads, from first ad delivery, included in the base content fee. Each extra 90 days costs 25% of the content fee.

How much does whitelisting cost?

Kiko negotiates 90 days of paid usage into the base creator fee where possible. Whitelisting beyond that is priced separately, typically 20–30% of the creator fee.

A creator won't approve whitelisting for our ads. What are our options?

Offer a shorter term, a spend cap, approval of ad copy, or a higher usage fee. If the creator still declines, run the content from your own handle under paid usage rights, or commission creator-made ads that are never posted to the creator's account.

How long does a TikTok Spark Ads code last?

TikTok's help pages say the creator chooses an authorization period of 7, 30, 60 or 365 days, and that requests sent through Content Suite default to 365 days. For a 90-day term, ask for a 60-day code and then a 30-day code.

Is a whitelisting clause the same as a usage-rights clause?

No. Usage rights cover using the content, while whitelisting (creator-handle ads) covers running ads under the creator's identity. Price and permission them separately.