Who Owns Content Created By An Influencer?

You have worked with an influencer, the post is live, and the content looks great. Now you want to know if your business can reuse the photos, videos or captions on your own website, ads, emails or social channels.

That question comes up a lot because social content feels easy to share, save and repost. Legally, though, there's a big difference between paying for a sponsored post and owning the underlying content.

The good news is that this doesn't have to be complicated. Once you separate ownership from licence rights, it becomes much easier to set clear rules with creators and avoid awkward takedown requests later.

Who Owns Influencer Content In New Zealand?

It depends on what was created, who created it and what your agreement says, but you shouldn't assume your brand owns influencer content just because you paid for a campaign.

In New Zealand, copyright is mainly dealt with under the Copyright Act 1994. Copyright can protect things like:

• photos and graphics
• videos and films
• captions, scripts and blog posts
• music, sound recordings and voiceovers
• illustrations and other creative works

As a starting point, the author or creator is often the first owner of copyright. However, there are exceptions. For example, if an employee creates content as part of their job, their employer may own the copyright. There are also New Zealand rules for certain commissioned works, such as photographs and films, where the person commissioning and paying for the work may own the copyright unless the parties agree otherwise.

This is where influencer content can get tricky. A campaign might include a paid Instagram Reel, photos, captions, music, a voiceover, a product demonstration and edited versions for ads. Each part may have different ownership rules.

Your influencer agreement should make the position clear. If the agreement says the influencer owns the content and grants your business a licence to use it, that will usually guide what you can do. If the agreement says ownership is assigned to your business, you may have broader rights. An assignment of copyright must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the person assigning the copyright.

Say Maya runs a Wellington skincare brand and pays an influencer to create three Reels and six product photos. Depending on the facts, Maya may own copyright in those commissioned Reels and photos by default if the statutory requirements are met and the agreement doesn't say otherwise. But that still doesn't answer every practical question. Maya should document the position and get express rights for paid ads, edits, whitelisting, territory, duration, attribution and moral rights consents, the influencer's image and any third party materials such as music or footage. A clear content licence clause could have avoided that uncertainty from day one.

What Is The Difference Between Ownership And A Licence?

Ownership means you control the copyright itself, while a licence means someone else owns the copyright but gives you permission to use it in agreed ways.

This distinction matters because most brand and influencer disagreements aren't really about whether content can be used at all. They're about how far the permission goes.

If Your Business Owns The Content

If your business owns the copyright, you can usually use, copy, adapt and publish the content, subject to any limits in the agreement and any third party rights. Ownership can be useful if you want long-term flexibility across multiple channels.

However, ownership isn't always the right commercial deal. Influencers often want to keep control of their creative work, portfolio and personal brand. Asking for full ownership may increase the fee or make the collaboration less appealing.

If Your Business Has A Licence

If your business has a licence, your rights depend on the wording. A licence might allow you to:

• repost the content on your brand social media accounts
• use the content on your website product pages
• include it in email marketing
• run it as paid advertising for a set period
• edit the content into shorter clips or different sizes
• share it with retailers, agencies or franchisees

A licence can be exclusive or non-exclusive. It can last for a few weeks, a year or indefinitely. It can apply only in New Zealand or in other countries too. It can allow paid ads or restrict use to organic social posts.

For many influencer campaigns, a tailored content licence is more practical than a full copyright transfer. It gives your business the usage rights it actually needs without taking more than the influencer is comfortable giving.

Can Your Brand Reuse Influencer Content In Paid Ads?

Yes, but only if you have permission to use the content for paid advertising and you comply with advertising law and platform rules.

Paid ads are one of the biggest areas where brands get caught out. An influencer might be happy for you to share their post to your Instagram Stories, but not happy for you to turn their face and video into a six-month paid campaign with a large ad spend.

Your agreement should clearly cover paid media if you want that right. You'll usually want to spell out:

• which platforms you can use, such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Google, Pinterest or your own website
• whether the content can be used as paid social, display ads, search ads, email ads or website banners
• how long the paid usage period lasts
• whether there's a spend cap
• whether you can crop, subtitle, resize, remix or translate the content
• whether the influencer can approve edits before the ad goes live
• whether usage is limited to New Zealand or can run overseas

You should also think about consumer law. Under the Fair Trading Act 1986, your business must not make misleading or deceptive claims. If an influencer says your supplement cures a health condition or your skincare product gives guaranteed results, your business may have a problem even if the influencer wrote the words.

The Advertising Standards Authority also expects advertising to be identifiable as advertising. Sponsored posts, gifted products and affiliate arrangements should be disclosed clearly. Hiding a commercial relationship can create risk for both the brand and the influencer.

Before you reuse influencer content in ads, check that the claims, disclosures and visuals still make sense in the new context. A caption that was acceptable as a personal review may become risky when repackaged as a high-performing paid ad.

What About Whitelisting And Spark Ads?

Whitelisting and creator-authorised ads are allowed if the influencer gives clear permission and the platform requirements are followed.

Whitelisting usually means your brand can run ads through, or in connection with, the influencer's social media account. On some platforms this is called creator authorisation, partnership ads, Spark Ads or a similar tool.

These arrangements can be powerful because the ad appears from the creator's handle or uses the creator's post identity. That can make the content feel more authentic and perform better.

It also means the influencer is giving your business a higher level of access and control, so your agreement should be specific. You may need clauses covering:

• which account or handle can be used
• how the influencer will provide access, codes or platform permissions
• how long the permission lasts
• who controls targeting, budget and captions
• whether the brand can respond to comments or direct messages
• whether the influencer can pause or revoke access
• what happens if the ad attracts negative comments

You shouldn't rely only on a chat message saying yes, go for it. Platform access can affect the influencer's reputation and the brand's compliance position, so both sides benefit from having the rules written down.

Also remember that platform terms don't replace copyright permission. A platform may let you boost a post technically, but that doesn't mean you have unlimited rights to download the video, edit it and run it somewhere else.

Do Influencers Have Moral Rights In Their Content?

Yes, influencers may have moral rights in their creative work even where your business owns or licences the copyright.

Moral rights under the Copyright Act 1994 are personal rights linked to the creator. They're separate from copyright ownership. They can include rights relating to attribution and rights to object to certain treatment of the work.

In practice, moral rights can matter when you:

• edit an influencer's video in a way that changes its message
• crop a photo so the creator's work looks poor or misleading
• remove the influencer's name where attribution was expected
• use the content in a context the influencer finds damaging
• make it look like someone else created the content

Moral rights can often be managed through the influencer agreement. For example, the influencer may consent to certain edits, formats, captions and advertising uses. They may also agree when attribution is or isn't required.

This isn't just a legal technicality. Influencer marketing works because people trust the creator's voice and image. If your brand edits content too heavily or uses it in a context the creator didn't agree to, you risk damaging the relationship and losing the authenticity you paid for.

What Should Your Influencer Agreement Say?

Your influencer agreement should clearly say who owns each piece of content and exactly how your business can use it.

A good agreement does more than set the fee and posting date. It gives both sides a shared playbook, so there's less room for confusion when the campaign performs well and you want to reuse the content.

Ownership And Licence Terms

Your agreement should say whether copyright is assigned to your business or whether the influencer keeps ownership and grants a licence. If copyright is being assigned, make sure the assignment is in writing and signed by or on behalf of the influencer or other copyright owner. If you're using a licence, cover:

• what content is included, such as raw footage, edited videos, photos, captions and Stories
• which channels the content can be used on
• whether paid ads are included
• the licence period
• the territory
• whether the licence is exclusive or non-exclusive
• whether sublicensing is allowed, for example to your agency, distributor or related company

Approvals And Creative Control

You should set out how briefs, drafts and approvals will work. For example, you might require the influencer to submit draft captions before posting, while still allowing them to speak in their own voice.

Try to be practical here. If the brand controls every word, the content may stop feeling genuine. If the creator has no approval process at all, you may end up with claims or visuals that aren't suitable for your product or industry.

Compliance With Advertising Rules

Your agreement should require clear disclosure of sponsored content, gifts, affiliate links and other commercial arrangements. It should also require the influencer to avoid false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims.

For regulated products, such as therapeutic products, financial services, alcohol or food claims, you may need stricter review steps before anything goes live.

Third Party Rights

Make sure the influencer has permission for anything they include in the content. That can include music, fonts, stock images, locations, other people appearing in the video, and any photographer, editor or production team involved.

If an influencer uses trending audio on a platform, that music licence may not carry over to your paid ad or website use. Don't assume that content cleared for one social platform is cleared for every marketing channel.

Privacy And Personal Information

If the content includes identifiable people, customer stories, testimonials or behind-the-scenes footage, privacy may be relevant. The Privacy Act 2020 can apply where your business collects, uses or shares personal information.

You may need consent from people appearing in the content, especially if you plan to reuse it in ads. This is particularly important for children, customers, staff, health-related content or sensitive settings.

Templates often miss the commercial details that matter most for influencer campaigns, especially paid usage, whitelisting and editing rights. A tailored agreement is usually worth it if the content is central to your marketing strategy.

What Happens When Content Needs To Be Removed?

If content needs to be removed, your agreement should say who must remove it, how quickly, and what happens to reused versions or paid ads.

Takedowns can happen for many reasons. The product might sell out, the campaign might end, the content might include an incorrect claim, or a licence period might expire. Sometimes a platform, music owner or person shown in the content may also object.

For your business, the practical risk is that content keeps circulating after permission has ended or after a claim is no longer accurate. That can create copyright, privacy, consumer law and reputational issues.

Your influencer campaign agreement can deal with this by covering:

• when the influencer must remove or archive posts
• when your brand must stop using the content
• how quickly paid ads must be paused after a takedown request
• whether old organic posts can stay up after the campaign
• what happens to screenshots, case studies and portfolio uses
• who deals with platform reporting or content claims
• whether content must be removed if legal requirements or platform policies change

There's no one perfect timeframe for every campaign, but many brands use practical deadlines such as 24 or 48 hours for urgent removals and a few business days for non-urgent changes. The right timeframe depends on the platform, the risk and the nature of your campaign.

You should also keep a simple record of what was posted, when it went live, what permissions were granted and when rights expire. That record can save a lot of stress when your team wants to reuse a high-performing video six months later.

Key Takeaways

• Paying an influencer doesn't automatically mean your business owns all content or can reuse it anywhere.
• Ownership and licence rights are different. A licence can be enough if it clearly covers the uses you need.
• Paid ads, whitelisting, Spark Ads and other creator-authorised ads need specific permission.
• Moral rights, attribution and editing consent matter, especially where you change the content or use the influencer's image heavily.
• Your agreement should cover copyright, usage period, platforms, approvals, disclosures, privacy, third party rights and takedown obligations.
• Clear terms protect both the brand and the influencer, and help your best content keep working for your business.

If you'd like help with influencer agreements, content licence terms, paid usage rights or advertising compliance, you can reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.