Brand still using your content after usage rights expire?

If a brand is still running an ad after your agreed usage period, save the ad link, account, date and version, then compare them with the signed scope. Ask the named buyer to stop the placement or agree a renewal before further use. A licence may treat paid ads, old organic posts and retained files differently, so check the actual terms before treating every visible copy as a breach.

For AI likeness work, also check who still has generation access and what happens to samples. The steps below cover both reporting a problem now and preventing a missed stop date next time.

Define the stop date precisely

Record the date, time, and time zone when permitted use ends. Distinguish the deadline for making new material from the deadline for running finished ads if the agreement uses separate periods.

List every channel and account covered by the licence. Include any agreed creator posts, scheduled ads, and creator-account placements so the team can check each one against the terms.

This is a practical planning checklist. The contract and applicable law determine the duties in a particular campaign.

Name who stops each placement

Assign the task to someone with access to the relevant ad accounts. Give them the live ad identifiers, approved versions, and stop instructions while the campaign is active.

If an agency manages the campaign, agree whether it or the brand confirms completion to the creator. Name a backup in case the assigned person leaves or loses access.

One brand, for example, may run approved ads through two accounts. The owner should check both accounts even if the creative team stored the video in one folder.

Keep an expiry register

Fill in one row for each platform account or other placement. Save the completed register with the campaign record.

Filled register entry

The ad ID and dates are invented. Use one row per placement; a stopped ad in one account does not confirm the status of another.

Agree what counts as confirmation

Set the evidence expected from each account, such as a dated status capture and a list of the ads stopped. Keep it with the campaign record and say who checks it.

Describe the limits honestly. Evidence that a team stopped its ads does not prove that nobody downloaded, reposted, or saved a copy. Give the creator a route to report later use and explain who will investigate it.

Close generation access and handle samples

Review who can still make material using the creator's identity. Follow the agreed steps for vendor access, reusable models, and original samples, as well as finished files.

Production samples and business records can have different retention needs. Tell the creator what the team deletes, what it retains, why, and for how long. Do not treat the end of ad use as proof that every vendor has deleted every item.

Settle these questions before collecting samples or starting production if the agreement leaves them open.

For organizations subject to PIPEDA, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner says to keep personal information only as long as needed for the identified purposes and to set retention and destruction procedures. That privacy duty is separate from the campaign’s ad-use dates. Read the Canadian retention guidance.

Agree renewal before extending use

Give both parties time to decide whether another term suits them. Review the brand, message, channels, territory, payment, and proposed new versions alongside the new dates.

A renewal request should say whether it extends an existing ad or adds new work. Record the new agreement and any approvals before continuing use. A discussion about renewal does not grant permission to run beyond the current term.

Keep the previous term's record. It helps the team distinguish authorized use during one period from a disputed placement in another.

Respond to reports of later use

If a creator reports use after expiry, collect the link, date, account, and version where possible. Compare them with the licence and approval records, then assign the next action.

Explain how the team contacts the buyer, checks that use has stopped, and follows up with the creator. Agree escalation contacts rather than promise a response time the team cannot support.

Send a specific stop or renewal request

Copy this message and replace the bracketed fields:

Our agreement permits [named use] through [date, time and time zone]. I found [ad link or ID] on [account] at [time]. Please check it against [agreement and approved version], confirm whether it is still delivering, and stop any use outside the agreed scope. Please send the status confirmation to [contact]. If you want to discuss renewal, please propose the new dates, channels and fee before extending use.

Keep the reply with your campaign agreement and approved version record. If use remains disputed, seek advice for your agreement and jurisdiction rather than assuming this message creates a legal remedy.

Semblanse's planned campaign controls require brands to stop running ads when a licence ends, with renewal subject to the creator's agreement. The service is pre-launch and its pilots will run by hand. Buyers can discuss a pilot to work through scope, approvals, and the end-of-term record.

Download the plain-text expiry register. Save a copy and replace the fields with your agreed scope and figures.

Connect this decision to the campaign

Assign the register to an owner who can stop each placement, with a backup who can check it. Our pilot overview describes the proposed handoff; the trust page distinguishes planned campaign records from the enquiry system already in use.