AI clauses in UGC contracts: training and likeness rights
Separate finished-ad permission, sample processing, general model training and new synthetic outputs in the agreement and tool settings.
A clause that says only “AI use” leaves key questions open. Separate permission to make a named ad from permission for a tool to process samples, improve a general model, or create new outputs for other campaigns. Those uses may be governed by different agreements, account settings and vendor terms.
Record each use separately
Before capture or upload, write down the brand, product, campaign, source files, tool and plan, who controls the account, who can access it, where the output may run, and when each permission ends. Do not assume that permission for one output allows new scripts, languages, products or campaigns.
| Use | What to identify | Question for the agreement or vendor |
|---|---|---|
| Make the named ad | Source recordings and approved campaign | Which tools may process the files, and only for what work? |
| Use the finished output | Brand, product, channels, countries and dates | Which approved files may run, and who may edit them? |
| Train or improve a model | Input files, prompts and outputs | Are they used to improve a general model, and can that use be disabled? |
| Generate future material | Reusable voice, avatar or generation access | Who can create new versions, for which campaigns, and how is access ended? |
| Keep records or backups | Samples, outputs and campaign records | What is retained, for how long, and what can the vendor actually delete? |
Canada’s federal privacy commissioner and provincial counterparts say organizations using generative AI should document their legal authority for personal information and explain what is collected, how it is used and disclosed, and why. Their guidance is for organizations; privacy duties vary by organization, activity and jurisdiction. It does not create one universal contract clause for every creator deal. Canadian privacy commissioners’ generative-AI principles.
Check the tool and account that will do the work
Read the current vendor terms and settings for the exact product, plan and workspace. Save the version or date you checked. Ask about model improvement, subcontractors, account access, output reuse, backups and the deletion route. If a setting or term is unclear, mark it unresolved and pause the upload until the parties agree.
A campaign agreement cannot change the vendor’s terms. The tool also cannot grant the buyer a creator’s permission. Make the agreement, tool settings and planned workflow describe the same use.
Fill a use record before sharing samples
Hypothetical review record, not contract language: Campaign: one named product ad. Material: a short creator recording. Allowed task: process it to make the approved ad. General model training: excluded only if the vendor’s current terms and settings confirm that limit. New brands or scripts: outside this campaign. Access owner: named production account. Retention and deletion: record the agreed dates and the vendor’s actual limits. If any field is unknown, the team should resolve it before upload.
Keep a copy of the relevant agreement, vendor terms, settings and approvals with the campaign record. Ask who will remove account access when the work ends. A local file deletion does not prove that a vendor removed every backup or model.
Semblanse is pre-launch. Its planned campaign rules exclude giving brands AI-training rights, but those terms must still match the actual tools and settings used. Read Semblanse’s planned sample and permission rules and agree the campaign scope before capture.
For a small-file sharing and access log, see how to share UGC samples safely. For the creator’s approval and refusal questions, see license your likeness for AI ads.
Connect this decision to the campaign
The category reference separates permission, generation and ad use. Apply that distinction to the licence checklist before considering the existing-partnership scenario; earlier footage access is not synthetic-use permission.