Glossary
Contract terms in plain English
The clauses freelancers and creators run into most, defined the way you would explain them to a peer, not the way a law firm would.
Creator deals
Exclusivity
A clause stopping you from taking competing work for a period. In brand deals it is normal, but it should be scoped to a category and paid for.
Morality clause
A clause that lets a brand terminate a deal, claw back fees, or refuse payment if the creator's public conduct is deemed to harm the brand's reputation.
Getting paid
Deposit
The share of the fee paid before work begins, so you are not financing the whole engagement. 25 to 50% upfront is standard.
Kill fee
The cancellation payment agreed before work starts, so the freelancer is not left absorbing 100% of the loss if the client walks away.
Late fee
A charge that accrues on overdue invoices, commonly around 1.5% per month, so a payment deadline has consequences.
Net terms
How many days after invoice a client is allowed to take before paying. Net-30 is healthy; Net-60 and beyond means you are financing the client.
IP and usage
Perpetual license
A license with no end date. The client can keep using the work forever, in whatever scope the license permits, without ever paying again.
Usage rights
What the client is allowed to do with the work: which channels, which territory, for how long. Creation is one price; usage is a second.
Work for hire
A clause that assigns full ownership of your work to the client the moment it exists, as if the client created it themselves.
Risk and liability
Auto-renewal
A clause that renews a contract automatically unless you cancel inside a narrow window. Easy to miss, expensive to be caught by.
Indemnity
A promise to cover the other party's losses, legal fees, or claims arising from your work. In a contract with no liability cap, indemnity is where unlimited risk lives.
Liability cap
The ceiling on what you can be made to pay if something goes wrong. No cap, paired with a broad indemnity, means unlimited exposure.
Non-compete
A clause restricting who you can work for after an engagement ends. Broad ones are often inappropriate for freelancers and may be unenforceable.
Termination
How the deal can end. 'Terminate immediately, without notice' lets the other side walk away with no warning and no wind-down.
Warranty
A promise you make about the work: that it is original, that you have the right to deliver it, and sometimes far more. Overbroad warranties create hidden risk.