Image rights are where most international brand deal contracts fail in Brazil. Foreign brands arrive with agreements drafted for US or EU markets — where image rights are handled differently or bundled into broader copyright provisions — and apply them to Brazilian creators without modification. The result is a contract that transfers less than the brand believes, and commits the creator to less than they may intend.
Understanding how Brazil separates image rights from copyright is not a legal technicality. It is the structural difference between owning the right to use a piece of content and owning the right to use the creator's face on a billboard.
Image as a Personality Right
Under Brazil's Civil Code, image is classified as a personality right — a category distinct from intellectual property and governed by different rules. Art. 11 establishes that personality rights are, as a rule, non-transferable and non-waivable, and that voluntary limitation of their exercise is restricted. Art. 20 specifically requires authorization for commercial use of a person's image.
What this means in practice:
- You can own the copyright to a video (the content itself) without owning the right to use the creator's image commercially
- Authorization for image use must be specific — not implied by the copyright assignment
- Image cannot be assigned definitively or for an indefinite term — only authorized for specific, time-bound, defined uses
This is the core difference from common law systems where personality rights (right of publicity) are often treated as a form of property that can be freely licensed or assigned. In Brazil, the personality-rights framework structurally prohibits the kind of perpetual, worldwide assignment routinely found in US contracts.
Copyright vs. Image Rights: The Practical Gap
The most consequential confusion in creator contracts: copyright assignment covers the work; image rights assignment covers the person.
A content creation agreement that assigns "all rights in and to the content produced" transfers the creator's copyright — the video, the photo, the script. It does not automatically transfer the right to:
- Use the creator's face in paid advertising after the campaign ends
- Place the creator's image on product packaging or outdoor advertising
- Use the creator's name or likeness to endorse the product in press materials
- Feature the creator's voice in ads beyond the original campaign
Each of these requires a specific, separate authorization under Civil Code Art. 20. Foreign brands that rely on copyright assignment alone to cover all these uses are operating with a gap in their documentation — and potentially exceeding what the creator actually authorized.
What Must Be in Every Image Rights Assignment
A legally sound image rights assignment under Brazilian law must specify:
- Parties: full identification of creator and brand
- Authorized pieces: which specific images, videos, or recordings are covered — by campaign, date, or description
- Purpose: the specific use (e.g., paid social media campaign for Product X, Q3 2026)
- Channels and media: social media (organic), paid digital media, outdoor/OOH, press, packaging — each must be listed
- Territory: Brazil only, or global — and if global, which specific markets
- Term: a defined end date — not "perpetual" or "indefinite"
- Compensation: whether bundled into the total fee or structured separately
The narrower each of these elements is defined, the clearer the authorization — and the easier to enforce if either party acts outside its limits.
A clause that reads "the brand may use all content produced under this agreement in any format, for any purpose, in perpetuity" is null under Brazilian law. The image-rights framework does not allow perpetual or indefinite-term assignment.
Perpetual Worldwide: Why It Doesn't Work in Brazil
"Perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable" is standard boilerplate in many US content agreements. In Brazil, that language is structurally incompatible with the personality-rights framework.
Because image is a personality right (Civil Code, Arts. 11 and 20):
- Assignments of indefinite duration, perpetual, or definitive in nature are null — not merely contestable
- "Worldwide" scope is valid for territories, but must be explicit — silence defaults to Brazil-only in domestic contracts
- "Irrevocable" cannot override statutory rescission rights where the brand breaches the agreement
The practical risk: the brand assumes it has permanent, unrestricted use rights and builds long-term campaigns on that assumption. When the clause is challenged, the brand discovers it never legally had those rights at all. A defined term protects both sides.
The solution is simple: replace "perpetual" with a defined term (12 months, 24 months) and include an option to renew with additional compensation. This is commercially reasonable and legally sound.
Voice, Name, and Likeness: Each Requires Specific Authorization
Three elements of creator identity that each require express authorization:
- Voice: any use of the creator's voice in audio content — voiceovers, ads, podcast integrations — beyond the original content produced under the agreement requires specific authorization
- Name: using the creator's name in product naming, event naming, press releases, or endorsement copy is a distinct right from using their image
- Likeness: any stylized, illustrated, or AI-generated representation that is recognizably based on the creator's appearance requires express consent
The AI dimension is emerging and unresolved in Brazilian law: if a brand uses a creator's likeness to generate synthetic content with AI tools, the authorization required under Civil Code Art. 20 almost certainly applies — but the specific legal framework is still developing. This is an area where contract specificity matters more than usual, and where a clause addressing AI-generated derivatives should be considered.
Underage Creators
Brazil has a significant and growing population of minor content creators. The rules are strict:
- Authorization for commercial image use must come from legal guardians — in most cases, both parents or appointed guardians
- Authorization must be in writing, with the same specificity required of any adult assignment
- The minor's own signature alone is insufficient for commercial use
- For creators aged 16 and above, they may sign with guardian assistance
For brands working with underage creators at any scale: the authorization documentation must be explicit and preserved. A gap here creates regulatory and reputational exposure that does not disappear when the creator reaches adulthood.
Wrongful Use After Expiration
When a term ends, all authorized use ends with it. A brand that continues running paid media featuring the creator's image after the contract expires is committing wrongful use — actionable under the Civil Code and through the creator's personality rights.
The documentation this requires from creators: records of the original term, copies of the content that was produced, and evidence of continued use after expiration. Screenshot monitoring of brand channels is a reasonable preventive measure for any creator who has granted a limited-term assignment.
Available remedies include an extrajudicial cease-and-desist, injunctive relief, and a claim for material and moral damages proportional to the scope and reach of the wrongful use.
We assist creators and brands in drafting and reviewing image rights assignments for Brazilian campaigns. Our practice covers digital contracts and digital law and creator economy. See also: Creator Brand Deals in Brazil: Contract Essentials.
FAQ
Yes. As a personality right with economic effects, commercial use of a creator's image (Civil Code Art. 20) requires clear, documented, and limited authorization. Generic releases, informal email authorizations, or unsigned contracts create evidentiary risk — for both the brand and the creator. Best practice: a written assignment identifying the parties, authorized pieces, purpose, channels, territory, term, and compensation.
No. Under Brazil's Civil Code (Arts. 11 and 20), image is a personality right — by nature inalienable, non-waivable, and non-transferable — and only admits specific, time-bound voluntary limitation. Indefinite-term, perpetual, or permanent image assignments are null in Brazil. A valid authorization requires a defined term, specific purpose, channels, and territory. Best practice for both sides is a defined term with renewal possible through additional compensation.
Not automatically. Voice, name, and likeness are individually protected personality aspects and must be expressly listed in the assignment to be used by the brand. Campaigns involving voice-over, use of the creator's name on a product, or event naming require specific authorization for each use.
Authorization for commercial use of a minor's image must be granted by the legal guardians — typically both parents — in writing, with the same specificity required of any assignment. For child creators with substantial operations, individual contract review and, in some cases, judicial authorization are advisable. Persons aged 16 and above may sign with their guardians' assistance.
Generally not unilaterally within the authorized term and scope. Revocation is available in specific situations: defect of consent, breach by the brand, use outside authorized limits, or expiration of the term. Use after the term ends, outside authorized channels, or in a territory not covered by the assignment is wrongful use and gives rise to compensation.
