Reviewing an influencer agreement from a brand

A brand's influencer agreement pays for posts and takes, in return, the right to reuse the creator's content, to control what the creator says, and to stop the creator working with competitors. The agreement decides what the creator keeps: the copyright in the content, the freedom to work with others, and the payment terms. I review the agreement from the creator's side and return it marked up with a written explanation of the changes and which ones a brand will accept, for a fixed fee of £495 in three working days.

Who this is for

Content creators, influencers and their management companies in England and Wales who have been sent a campaign agreement, ambassador terms or a platform brief by a brand or its agency, and want to know what rights they are giving away and what they are entitled to be paid. The creator contracts as a business; the advertising rules protect the audience.

What to look for in an influencer agreement

Deliverables, approvals and the brand's control over the content

The agreement should specify each deliverable by platform, format, number, length and posting date, and the review checks the approval process: how many rounds, how long the brand has to approve, and whether silence is approval. It asks for the creator's editorial control over tone and wording to be preserved within the brand's guidelines, for the brand's right to require changes to be limited to factual accuracy, legal compliance and brand guidelines, and for the deliverable to count as delivered once posted as approved.

Usage rights, copyright and how long the brand may use your content

The creator owns the copyright in the content it makes under section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and brand agreements ask for an assignment or a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free licence covering paid advertising. An assignment must be in writing under section 90, and the review asks for a licence instead, limited by term, territory, media and purpose, with paid amplification, use in the brand's own advertising and use on packaging each priced separately. It also checks that the creator keeps the right to leave the content on its own channels and in its portfolio, and that the brand cannot alter the content in a way that misrepresents the creator, a point the moral rights in section 80 touch where they have not been waived.

Disclosure of the partnership and who carries the advertising risk

A post made for payment or in return for product is advertising and must be identified as such: the CAP Code requires a clear label, and paragraph 12 of Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 bans using editorial content to promote a product where a trader has paid without making that clear. The brand and the creator are both responsible. The review checks that the agreement requires the label the platforms and the CAP Code expect, that the brand supplies substantiation for any claims it asks the creator to make, and that the creator is indemnified where a claim the brand supplied turns out to be misleading.

Exclusivity, non-disparagement and the categories you are locked out of

Brands ask for exclusivity in a category during the campaign and for a period after it, and for the creator not to say anything negative about the brand. The review asks for the category to be defined narrowly by product, for exclusivity to end when the last post goes live or shortly after, for exclusivity to be paid for separately, and for non-disparagement to be limited to the campaign period and to statements about the product rather than the creator's honest opinion of it afterwards.

Fees, payment, product and the creator's status

The fee should be stated with the payment date, and the agreement should say whether gifted product is in addition to the fee, whether the creator keeps it, and who pays for shipping and returns. Payment within a stated period after posting is the point to press, with interest and compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 where the brand pays late. Where the brand's terms describe the creator as engaged personally and controlled by the brand, the review checks that the wording does not undermine the creator's self-employed status under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and that the creator retains the right to substitute or decline.

Termination, morality clauses and takedowns

Brand agreements let the brand terminate if the creator's conduct brings it into disrepute, and require the creator to take content down on request. The review asks for the morality clause to have an objective trigger, for termination not to remove the fee for deliverables already posted, for takedown to be limited to the brand's own intellectual property or a legal requirement, and for the brand's own conduct to give the creator a matching right to end the association.

What it costs

Standard review, £495. Marked-up document and a written explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the contract review page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• Your own contract returned with my amendments as tracked changes, plus a clean version with every change accepted, ready to send to the other side
• Comments in the document where a point needs explaining
• A written explanation of what I have changed and why, by email or as an attachment if it is lengthy, marking the points I would hold firm on and the ones that are negotiable
• A view on what is normal market practice and what is the other side pushing their luck
• One round of follow-up questions by email, included

What is not included

• Negotiating directly with the other side, which I quote separately once I know who is on the other side. Where the other side is willing to share a live document, I can work in that document directly
• Drafting a replacement contract from scratch
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Disputes about a contract that is already signed

Questions I am often asked

The brand wants to use my content in its paid ads forever. Is that normal?

It is common in brand templates and it is the most valuable right you are being asked to give away. The review asks for a licence limited by term, territory and media, with paid advertising, packaging and use in the brand's own channels priced separately, and no assignment of your copyright.

Do I have to label a post if I was only sent free product?

A post in return for free product where the brand has control over the content is advertising and must be labelled, and both you and the brand are responsible. The review checks that the agreement requires the label the platform and the CAP Code expect, so that the obligation is shared rather than left to you.

The brand says I cannot work with any competitor for six months after the campaign. Can they do that?

They can if you agree to it, and the review asks whether you are being paid for it. It asks for the category to be defined narrowly, for the exclusivity period to end when the campaign does or shortly after, and for a separate fee for any longer restriction.

Related guidance and services

• Contract review, £495, the service this page describes
• Terms and conditions drafting, £995
• Reviewing a brand ambassador agreement
• Reviewing a marketing agency contract before you sign

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.