UGC video rights management

Yes. The easiest approach is to treat every customer video as user-generated advertising content and get a short, written release before you use it in an ad.

The simplest workflow

1. Ask the customer for the original video

   • Make clear that you want to use it in paid advertising, not merely repost it organically.
   • If they filmed it themselves, confirm that they own/control the video and have permission from anyone else appearing in it.

2. Get a written “Video & Advertising Release”

   The release should expressly give your company permission to:

   • use the customer's name, image, likeness, voice, and video
   • edit, crop, caption, subtitle, or otherwise modify the video
   • use it in paid advertisements, including social media, websites, YouTube, TV, etc.
   • use it worldwide, if that's what you need
   • use it for a specified period—or indefinitely, if appropriate
   • associate the testimonial with your brand/product

   Copyright-wise, getting permission from the person who owns the video is the safest route; the U.S. Copyright Office specifically recommends obtaining permission/license from the copyright owner when permission is needed.www.copyright.gov

3. Make the advertising permission explicit

   Don't rely on language like “we may repost your content.” That's potentially too vague for paid advertising. Say something like “I grant [Company] permission to use this video and my name, likeness, and voice in advertising and promotional materials, including paid digital advertising.”

4. If you compensate them, disclose the relationship

   If you pay the customer, give them free products, discounts, or another meaningful incentive, treat that as a material connection and make the appropriate disclosure in the ad. FTC guidance says endorsements must reflect the endorser's honest experience and material connections generally need to be disclosed.www.ftc.gov

5. Don't edit the testimonial into something misleading

   You can generally edit for length and format, but don't splice words together or remove context in a way that changes what the customer actually said or experienced. The FTC says endorsements cannot be presented out of context or distorted.www.ftc.gov

6. Keep the release with the asset

   Create a simple record such as:

   Customer → Video filename → Release date → Advertising rights → Compensation → Expiration

   That way, your marketing team can verify rights before launching an ad.

One important distinction

You actually need to clear two different sets of rights:

The video itself: Who owns the copyright?
The person in the video: Who has the right to authorize use of their name/image/voice/likeness for advertising?

For example, a customer could own a video they filmed, but another person appearing prominently in it may have separate rights. State publicity/privacy laws can also matter; New York, for example, specifically regulates certain commercial uses of a person's name, voice, photograph, or likeness.dos.ny.gov

A practical release

For a U.S. business, I'd have the customer check a box/sign something along these lines:

I authorize [Company] to use the video I have provided, together with my name, image, likeness, voice, and statements contained in the video, in [Company]'s advertising and promotional materials, including paid social media and online advertising. I give [Company] permission to edit, crop, caption, reproduce, publish, distribute, and display the video for these purposes. I confirm that I have the right to grant this permission and that, to the best of my knowledge, the video does not contain material owned by someone else that I am not authorized to provide.

For anything involving health claims, children, substantial compensation, influencers, exclusivity, perpetual rights, or large advertising campaigns, I'd have an attorney adapt the release to your jurisdiction rather than relying on a generic form. The FTC's current rules also specifically address deceptive testimonials and reviews.www.ftc.gov

FTC: Endorsements, Influencers, and Reviews
U.S. Copyright Office: How to Obtain Permission

If you tell me what kind of business you have and where the customers are located, I can also draft a one-page customer video release you can put into a Google Form/Doc and start using immediately.