Stock footage licenses spell out where a clip may appear and for how long. They are not fine print to skim. A clip that is free to use in a personal video may be barred from a paid ad, and the limits are usually explicit.
Read the terms before you edit the clip into anything you plan to publish.
Royalty free means you pay once and reuse the clip without ongoing fees. It does not mean you can sell the clip itself, claim it as your own footage, or use it in ways the license forbids.
Resale and redistribution are the usual bans. You cannot resell a template or a product that is mostly the stock clip, because that would compete with the library.
A model release is the person consent to appear in commercial work. A property release covers identifiable buildings, logos, and artwork. Clips without releases are riskier for ads and branded content.
If a face or a landmark drives the clip, check that a release exists. Paid libraries usually mark this clearly, and free sites often do not.
Editorial use covers news, commentary, and education. Commercial use covers anything selling a product or a brand. A clip licensed for editorial work cannot quietly become part of an ad campaign.
When a topic touches real events or public figures, assume editorial rules apply until you confirm otherwise.
The cheap clip you did not read the license for is the one that costs the most later.
Save the license text, the source link, and the download date beside each clip. If a claim ever arrives, that record answers it in minutes instead of weeks.
A simple folder of screenshots is enough. The point is to be able to prove your right to use the footage.
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