A brand partnership is a contract, and most of the disputes that follow one come from the parts nobody wrote down. Who owns the content, how long the brand can use it, whether the creator can work with a competitor, what happens when a post underperforms or a controversy breaks, and when the money actually arrives are questions that a two-line email agreement does not answer. The firm drafts these agreements for brands and creators and reviews the ones the other side has sent.
Ownership and usage rights
The creator owns the copyright in the content they make unless it is assigned in writing, and paying for a post does not change that. What the brand needs is a licence, and the licence should say which platforms it covers, whether the brand can run the content as paid advertising on its own channels, which is usually a separate and larger right, for how long, and in which territories. Perpetual, worldwide, all-media licences are common in brand templates and are worth far more than the fee attached to them.
Exclusivity and category
Exclusivity is the provision most likely to cost a creator income they did not anticipate. A category exclusivity clause can prevent work with any competitor in a broadly defined field for the term and a tail period after it, and a creator with several brand relationships can find that two agreements conflict. The category, the named competitors, the term and the tail should all be specific, and the fee should reflect what is being given up.
Deliverables, approvals and performance
The agreement should list the deliverables precisely, meaning the number, format, platform and timing of posts, and set out an approval process with a deadline, so that a brand cannot sit on a draft indefinitely and a creator cannot publish something the brand has not seen. Performance obligations need care, because a creator can commit to posting; a creator should not commit to a number of views or conversions, which are outside their control, and payment should not depend on them unless that is deliberately agreed and priced.
Disclosure and advertising rules
Sponsored content is advertising, and Canada’s deceptive marketing rules under the Competition Act apply to it. A material connection between the creator and the brand has to be disclosed in a way the audience will actually see, and both the Competition Bureau and Ad Standards publish guidance on what that means in practice. The agreement should say who is responsible for disclosure and what wording will be used, because if it says nothing, the creator usually carries the exposure while the brand holds the approval.
Payment, termination and reputation
Payment terms should state the amount, the schedule and what triggers each instalment, with a kill fee where work is cancelled after it has begun. Termination should be available to both sides on defined grounds, and morals clauses, which allow a brand to end the deal after conduct that damages its reputation, should be reciprocal and tied to something objective rather than to the brand’s discretion. Where an agency sits between the brand and the creator, the agreement should be clear about who is paying whom and who is liable when a payment does not arrive.
Where the firm can act
Drafting, review and negotiation of brand, sponsorship and endorsement agreements are available to brands and creators anywhere in Alberta. Disputes over unpaid fees, misuse of content or breach of exclusivity are taken where the file proceeds through the Calgary Courts Centre. The practice is virtual, so meetings happen by video, telephone and email, with in-person meetings available on request in Cochrane or in Calgary.
If you have a brand agreement to sign, one to draft, or one that has been broken, call (587) 328-3328.
Frequently Asked Questions
You do, unless you assign copyright in writing. The brand gets whatever licence the agreement grants, so the licence terms are where the value sits.
Only if the agreement grants that right. Paid usage on the brand’s own channels is usually a separate, more valuable licence and should be priced separately.
Yes. A material connection with a brand must be disclosed clearly under Canada’s deceptive marketing rules, and the agreement should say who is responsible and how.
A kill fee clause covers that situation, and without one you are left arguing about what was owed for work already done, which is why it belongs in every agreement.
Our Services
- Copyright, Publishing & Media Agreements
- Influencer, Sponsorship & Brand Agreements
- IP Strategy, Licensing & Monetization
- Brand Protection Strategy
- Creator & Digital Business Structuring
- IP & Creative Contract Disputes
- Image Rights & Personality Rights Advisory
- Entertainment, Music & Digital Media Agreements
