Contract with a content creator: fee, deliverables, usage rights

When a written contract is required

Article 8 of law no. 2023-451 of 9 June 2023 requires a written contract, “on pain of nullity”.

The contract binds the creator to the advertiser or to the influencer’s agent.

Since 1 January 2026, the obligation applies from EUR 1,000 excluding tax (decree no. 2025-1137 of 28 November 2025).

The total adds up the fees and the value of the benefits in kind an advertiser grants an influencer. It is counted over the same year, per promotional objective.

Below the threshold, the Ministry of the Economy still recommends a contract; a simple email exchange setting out the terms could be enough.

The clauses required by law

Article 8 makes the advertiser, its agent and the creator jointly and severally liable for damage caused to third parties in performing the contract.

The written contract includes “in particular” the following:

• the identity of the parties, their postal and email addresses, their country of tax residence;
• the nature of the work;
• the cash fee or how it is set, the value of any benefit in kind and the terms on which it is granted;
• the rights and obligations of the parties, including intellectual property;
• French law as the governing law, when the activity targets an audience in France.

Fee and payment

The contract states the fee excluding VAT, the payment date and its conditions.

Payment can depend on content approval: the contract then says who approves, within what time and after how many revisions.

For a gifted product, the contract states the product’s value; the Ministry of the Economy uses its real value.

The Ministry asks creators to register their activity with the single business registration portal, which issues a SIREN or SIRET number.

Deliverables

The brief attached to the contract states the product, the key messages and the mandatory labels.

The contract lists each deliverable:

• the number of pieces and their format: vertical video, photo, story, length;
• delivery as files for UGC, or publication on the creator’s account;
• the delivery date and, for a post, the publication date;
• the number of revisions included and what a revision covers;
• the “Publicité” or “Collaboration commerciale” label and the brand tag;
• how long a post stays online.

Usage rights

Article L131-3 of the French Intellectual Property Code makes the transfer of an author’s rights conditional on each transferred right being mentioned separately.

The scope of use must be defined “as to its extent and purpose, as to place and as to duration”.

For a UGC video, the contract therefore states:

• the uses: brand accounts, website, paid advertising;
• the platforms covered;
• the territory;
• the duration, for example in months for advertising.

The contract on CollabLib

The proposal for a paid mission sets the fee excluding VAT, the delivery date, the formats, the number of pieces, the revisions and the usage rights.

Usage rights are chosen in the proposal: organic use, or advertising for a number of months.

Either party can request a change through a form; the other party accepts or declines it in the collaboration thread.

The fee can be negotiated before acceptance only.

Acceptance creates version 1 of the contract; each accepted change creates the next version, dated and fingerprinted.

The business pays CollabLib on acceptance; the payment is held until the content is approved.

The creator is paid by SEPA bank transfer, on an invoice issued by CollabLib in the creator’s name.

Fees: 10% on paid missions, 8% with the Max plan; 8% on the creator side.