Influencer contract red flags: 10 clauses to check before you sign

1. Ownership: "work made for hire"

If the contract says your content is a "work made for hire" or that you "assign all right, title and interest," the brand may end up owning the video, not just licensing it. That can affect whether you can keep it on your own channel, reuse clips, or show it in your portfolio.

Many contracts add a backup assignment clause in case the content doesn't legally qualify as work made for hire. Read both.

Ask: "Can I keep ownership and give you a license for the uses you need?"

2. Usage rights: "in perpetuity, throughout the universe"

Usage rights decide where the brand can use your content, for how long, and whether that includes paid ads. "Perpetual" or "unlimited" usage is not boilerplate. It's one of the most valuable things in the contract, and it's often given away for free.

Ask: "Can we limit usage to [X months] on organic channels, with paid usage priced separately?"

3. Exclusivity

Exclusivity stops you working with other brands. Check three things: which brands or categories are covered, how long it lasts (it sometimes runs well past the campaign), and whether you're paid for it. Broad exclusivity, such as "any beauty brand for 12 months," can cost you more than the deal pays.

Ask: "Which competitors exactly, for how long after the last post, and is that reflected in the fee?"

4. Term and termination

Look for whether the brand can cancel "for convenience" at any time, and what you're owed if it does. The worst version: they cancel after you've shot the content, keep the right to use it, and owe you nothing.

Ask: "If you cancel after I've delivered or started production, what am I paid?" (A kill fee is common.)

5. Payment terms

"Net 60" or "Net 90" means payment 60 or 90 days later. Check what starts that clock. If it's an undefined "acceptance" of your content, the clock may never start. Also check for late-payment terms and whether payment depends on the brand's client paying first.

Ask: "Net 30 from delivery, with content deemed accepted if you don't respond within [X] days?"

6. Approvals and revisions

Unlimited revisions turn a flat fee into unpaid hourly work. Look for a cap on rounds and a deadline for the brand's feedback.

Ask: "Two rounds of revisions included, with further changes billed or capped?"

7. Indemnification

An indemnity clause decides who pays if someone sues. Watch for one-way clauses that make you cover claims arising from the brand's own product or claims it told you to make.

Ask: "Can indemnity be mutual, with each side covering its own content and claims?"

8. Morality clause

Morality clauses let the brand end the deal if you do something that harms its reputation. Check who decides (often "in the brand's sole discretion"), how broadly it's worded, and whether the brand can claw back money already paid.

Ask: "What's the standard, and can any refund be limited to unpaid amounts?"

9. FTC disclosure

Under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, influencers as well as brands can be responsible for clear disclosure of a paid relationship. Watch for contracts where the brand controls the caption but you carry the risk, or where the brand discourages clear disclosure.

Ask: "Will you approve a clear #ad or 'paid partnership' disclosure in every post?"

10. Name, image and likeness (whitelisting)

Whitelisting (also called allowlisting, or Spark Ads on TikTok) lets the brand run paid ads through your account or with your face and name. That's a separate, valuable product. It often hides inside the usage clause, sometimes with no time limit.

Ask: "Is whitelisting priced separately, time-limited, and subject to my approval of ad copy?"