Content Promotion & Media License
CONTENT PROMOTION & MEDIA LICENSE
(Vanguard Content Promotion & Media License)
Version 1.0 (EN / North America edition)
Platform: Vanguard (including the Pathfinder navigation module)
Operator: Vanguard Creative Platforms Inc. (“Vanguard”, “we”, “us”)
Last updated: April 30, 2026
Contact: connect@vanguardnetwork.org
1. Purpose and Scope
The Vanguard Content Promotion & Media License (the “License”) explains the terms under which a participant (the “Participant” or “you”) may allow Vanguard to use content you upload to Vanguard in order to promote:
- the Vanguard platform;
- specific events/rounds hosted on Vanguard; and/or
- the Vanguard ecosystem and related showcases.
Vanguard Ecosystem and related showcases refers to promotional channels, initiatives, and presentations connected to the Vanguard Ecosystem (as defined in the Vanguard Terms of Service), including, but not limited to:
- the Vanguard website and platform
- official social media accounts
- marketing campaigns
- demo days
- investor or partner showcases
- press features
- newsletters
- other promotional materials designed to highlight Vanguard and its participants.
This License applies to any participant who engages with Vanguard for promotional activities, content creation or contribution, event participation, or related collaborative purposes. By checking the acceptance box or participating in these activities, you agree to be legally bound by this License.
This License supplements and does not replace the Vanguard Terms of Service
Plain English
We use your content to promote Vanguard, its events, and ecosystem channels. By submitting or participating, you agree to the terms.
2. Grant of License
The License is granted by:
- an individual participant; or
- a team representative authorized to submit content on behalf of a participant, team, and/or organization.
By accepting this License, you confirm that:
- you own the content or have the rights needed to submit it,
- you have the authority to grant this License, and
- you act on your own behalf or with proper permissions for a team.
Plain English
You own the content or have permission to share it and give us a license to use it.
3. License Parameters
You grant Vanguard a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use your submitted content (or excerpts) for promotional, editorial, and informational purposes related to Vanguard and its events.
This is not a transfer of ownership and not an assignment of exclusive rights.
Plain English
Your rights stay yours. We don’t “take” your authorship. You simply let us use your work to promote the platform and events.
4. General Sublicensing Framework
Vanguard may grant sublicenses of the rights described in this License to:
· its affiliates and related entities;
· Event partners, sponsors, and co-organizers;
· contractors, agencies, and service providers acting on Vanguard’s behalf; and/or
· media outlets, publications, social media pages, or other channels used to promote or distribute content on Vanguard’s behalf.
Any such sublicense will be limited to the purposes permitted under this License, and Vanguard will remain responsible for ensuring that such parties use the content according to this License.
4.1 Future Clarifications
Vanguard may clarify or update this Section in the future in accordance with the update procedures applicable to this License. Any such clarification or update will apply only to future uses unless otherwise permitted by applicable law or expressly agreed with the Participant. No update will transfer ownership of the Participant’s content to Vanguard.
Plain English
We may let partners or service providers use your content for the same purposes allowed under this licence, but they must follow the same rules. Vanguard is still growing, so these rules about partners using your content might change in the future. Any changes will only apply to future uses, and your rights or past content won’t be affected.
5. Rights of Use
Under this License, Vanguard may:
5.1 Use and Display Content
- publish the content in full or in part;
- reproduce and publicly display it;
- distribute it in digital and offline formats; and/or
- include it in showcases, portfolios, archives, and event case studies.
Note: Vanguard’s rights are limited to the uses described in this License. Vanguard is not responsible for any third-party use of your content outside of this License (see Section 13.1 (Third-Party Use)).
For clarity, uses necessary for operating the Services (including event records, rankings, and platform display) are governed by the Terms of Service and do not require this License.
5.2 Create Promotional Derivatives
Vanguard may create promotional derivatives solely for promotional, editorial, or informational purposes related to Vanguard and its events, including, but not limited to:
- previews, teasers, excerpts;
- quotes and clips;
- “Top Works,” “Winners,” or “Finalists” compilations;
- showreels, highlight videos, recap edits;
- rankings, curated lists, themed collections; and/or
- presentations for partners, sponsors, and enterprise clients.
Vanguard may edit, adapt, crop, format, translate, or otherwise modify the content. Promotional derivatives may also be combined or presented together with content submitted by other participants. These materials are not treated as a standalone commercial product of your content.
5.3 Sublicensing for Promotional Use
Any sublicensing required to carry out the promotional, editorial, or informational uses described in this Section 5 is governed by Section 4 (General Sublicensing Framework).
For clarity, sublicensing does not permit third parties to independently exploit, commercialize, sell, distribute, or monetize the content outside the purposes permitted by this License.
Plain English
We can edit your content, make teasers or highlight reels, combine it with other participants’ work, and share it with partners or agencies — but we cannot sell your content as a separate product.
6. Scope of Publication
Your content may be used for promotion:
- on Vanguard websites and event pages;
- inside Pathfinder;
- on Vanguard social channels;
- on video platforms (e.g., YouTube, Shorts, Reels, TikTok);
- in messengers, newsletters, and community posts;
- in paid ads promoting the platform/events;
- in decks and demos for partners, agencies, sponsors, and enterprise;
- at offline events (conferences, showcases, exhibitions); and/or
- in any other promotional format related to Vanguard and its events.
Note: While Vanguard may use your content across these channels, Vanguard is not responsible for any sharing, reposting, or use by third parties outside of its control (see Section 13.1 (Third-Party Use)).
Plain English
If we’re promoting Vanguard or an event, we may show your work wherever that promotion happens.
7. Editing, Formatting, and AI Tools
Vanguard may apply technical and editorial processing for promotional presentation, including:
- trimming and clipping;
- montage/editing;
- preview generation;
- subtitles/captions;
- normalization (audio levels), resizing, compression;
- formatting and visual framing; and/or
- use of algorithmic or AI tools to improve presentation (e.g., captions, layout, upscaling, visuals).
Vanguard commits to:
- not misrepresent your authorship;
- not distort the work in a way that reasonably harms your reputation; and
- not present a modified promo format as a replacement for your original.
While Vanguard will exercise care in editing and formatting content, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any unintentional or inadvertent harm to a Participant’s reputation resulting from such edits will not make Vanguard liable, provided the edits were made in good faith, in accordance with the purposes of this License, and without intentional misrepresentation of authorship.
No model training by default: Your content is not used to train AI models unless a specific event explicitly states otherwise and you explicitly accept it.
Plain English
We can make teasers, add subtitles, and format your work nicely.
We won’t claim it’s ours, won’t intentionally hurt your reputation, and won’t train AI models on it “by default.”
If an edit accidentally harms your reputation, it’s unintentional, and Vanguard isn’t responsible as long as we acted in good faith.
8. Credit & Attribution
When feasible, Vanguard will credit:
- your name / stage name / username;
- your team name (if applicable);
- the relevant event/round context.
Anonymous events follow the event’s anonymity rules.
Plain English
We credit your work when we post it, unless the event rules say otherwise.
9. Monetization and compensation
This License is royalty-free (no separate payment for promotional use).
You understand that Vanguard may monetize the platform, events, and promotional content as described in earlier clauses and in this agreement through methods including, but not limited to:
- sponsorships,
- advertising,
- affiliate marketing,
- partner placements,
- branded content,
- merchandise tie-ins,
- event promotions, and/or
- promotional campaigns,
and that such monetization is not considered a sale of your content as a standalone product. Vanguard may sublicense content to partners for these specific purposes.
Any broader commercial use of your content (e.g., standalone product releases) requires a separate written agreement.
Plain English
This license is free, and you won’t be paid separately for promotional use. Vanguard can make money from the platform, events, and promotional content (through ads, sponsorships, affiliate links, partners, branded content, merchandise, or event promotions) without selling your content as a standalone product, and any other commercial use requires a separate agreement.
10. Restrictions
Vanguard may not:
- Sell your work as a standalone product;
- Release paid compilations or albums of your work without a separate written agreement;
- Transfer your work to third parties for independent monetization.
These restrictions are in addition to and governed by the terms of Section 9 (Monetization and Compensation).
Plain English
We cannot sell or give your content to others for profit without a separate deal.
11. Compliance with Event Rules
If a specific event:
- limits promotional use; or
- sets additional conditions,
then those event rules apply for that event, but they cannot override the core protections above (no ownership transfer, no standalone sale without a separate deal).
Plain English
Event rules may add restrictions, but they don’t take your rights away.
12. Participant Warranties
By submitting content and accepting this License, the Participant represents and warrants that:
- You are the author of the content or you have sufficient rights/permissions to submit it and grant this License;
- The content does not infringe copyrights, neighboring rights, trademark rights, privacy/publicity rights, or any other rights of third parties;
- If the content contains third-party materials (samples, beats, images, fonts, footage, datasets, code, etc.), you have secured the necessary permissions/licenses;
- The content is free of malware, viruses, or harmful code;
- The content does not include unlawful, discriminatory, or harmful materials and does not violate applicable law;
- Submission of the content does not violate any rules or policies of Vanguard or the event;
- There are no pending claims, disputes, or litigation regarding the content; and
- Granting this License does not breach any agreement you’ve entered into (e.g., label contracts, exclusive distribution, NDA restrictions).
Plain English
You confirm it’s your work, you have the rights, and you’re not uploading content that breaks any laws or agreements.
13. Claims, Takedowns, and Dispute Handling
If we receive a credible complaint or claim that your content infringes third-party rights, Vanguard may:
- temporarily restrict visibility or promotional use;
- request proof of rights/permissions from you; and/or
- remove or disable access to the content while reviewing.
If infringement occurred due to your actions, you agree to address the claim and cover resulting losses as required by law.
13.1 Third-Party Use
Vanguard is not responsible or liable for any use, repost, or distribution of your content by third parties outside of Vanguard’s control. This includes, but is not limited to, shares on social media, blogs, media outlets, or any other channels where Vanguard did not authorize the use.
Plain English
If someone complains seriously, we may take your content down while investigating, and you handle any legal fallout if it’s your fault. If someone else shares your content without Vanguard knowing, that’s not Vanguard’s responsibility.
14. Indemnification
You shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Vanguard and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, contractors, licensees, and partners from and against any third-party claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or related to:
(i) any breach of the representations and warranties in Participant Warranties (Section 12);
(ii) any claim that the Content infringes or violates the rights of any third party; or
(iii) the Participant’s violation of applicable law or contractual obligations.
Notwithstanding the above, neither you nor Vanguard are responsible for claims, damages, or losses arising solely from Vanguard’s good-faith editing, formatting, or AI-assisted processing of content under Section 7.
This Section survives withdrawal or termination of the License.
This indemnification aligns with and supplements the indemnification obligations under the Terms of Service.
Plain English
If Vanguard gets sued because of your content or your promises about it, you cover the costs. We aren’t responsible for good-faith edits or formatting.
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15. Withdrawal of the License
The Participant may withdraw this License for future promotional uses by providing written notice to Vanguard.
Upon receipt of such notice:
- Vanguard will cease initiating new promotional uses of the content that are not directly connected to the original event, round, or platform context within a reasonable time.
However, the License remains perpetual and irrevocable with respect to:
- any use of the content already made prior to withdrawal; and
- any use reasonably connected to the operation and documentation of the Services, including:
- event records, brackets, rankings, and results;
- recaps, highlight materials, and event summaries;
- archives, historical records, and platform documentation;
- case studies, portfolios, and materials demonstrating participation or outcomes.
Vanguard is not required to remove, modify, or restrict access to:
- previously published materials;
- archived pages, cached content, or historical records; or
- content incorporated into compilations, sequences, or event structures.
Withdrawal applies only to future promotional uses and does not operate retroactively.
Any third-party reposts or distributions outside Vanguard’s control are not subject to removal obligations.
All obligations that by their nature survive termination, including Participant warranties and indemnification, remain in effect after withdrawal.
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Plain English
You can opt out going forward — we won’t use your content in new promotions. Old content may remain. Your warranties and responsibilities, including indemnifying Vanguard, still apply.
16. Termination
Vanguard may suspend or terminate your participation in the program if:
-
You materially breach this license;
-
You fail to remedy a breach within a reasonable period after notice;
-
Your actions expose Vanguard to legal, reputational, or commercial risk; or
-
Termination is required by law or a regulatory authority.
Upon termination, Vanguard may:
-
Suspend or revoke access to the program and related materials;
-
Cease ongoing promotions or use of your content, based on their discretion; and/or
-
Consider the breach when evaluating eligibility for future engagements or contracts with Vanguard.
16.1 Survival of Obligations
-
Any obligations that are expressly stated to survive termination, including Participant warranties (Section 12) and Indemnification (Section 14), will remain in full force.
-
If termination results from the Participant’s breach, the Participant remains responsible for obligations accrued before termination and any losses caused by the breach.
Plain English
If you break the rules or create legal risk, we can end the agreement and stop using your content. Even after termination, your promises (like indemnifying Vanguard) and past obligations still apply.
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17. No transfer of ownership / non-exclusive nature
This License:
- is non-exclusive;
- does not transfer ownership or exclusive rights to Vanguard; and
- does not restrict your ability to publish, monetize, or license your content elsewhere.
Plain English
You can still do whatever you want with your work — we’re not your label.
18. Use of contractors and service providers
Vanguard may use contractors (editors, designers, social media teams, production crews) to create or distribute promotional materials.
Those contractors act on Vanguard’s behalf and do not receive independent rights to your content.
Plain English
If we hire a video editor, they don’t “get” your rights — they’re just helping us produce promo.
19. No Commercial Standalone Exploitation
Your content may not be:
- sold as a standalone product by Vanguard;
- packaged into paid releases (albums/compilations) by Vanguard; or
- sublicensed to third parties for their own monetization,
unless a separate written agreement is signed with Vanguard.
Plain English
If we ever want a real commercial release, we’ll do a separate deal.
20. No Obligation to Use Content
Vanguard is not required to promote, feature, or use any content. Decisions about what to include in showcases, campaigns, or other promotions are made entirely at Vanguard’s discretion. Choosing not to use your content does not affect your license, and Vanguard makes no guarantees regarding visibility, placement, or success.
Plain English
You’re giving us permission to use your content — we’re not required to feature, promote, or include it, and we decide what to showcase or highlight.
21. Use of Name, Handle, and Likeness
Where permitted by law, you allow Vanguard to use:
- your name / stage name / username;
- your team name; and/or
- your profile elements (avatar, bio excerpt, event placement)
only in connection with promoting your content, the event, and Vanguard.
If you are participating in an event, round, or category where the applicable Event rules require anonymity, pseudonymity, or restricted public attribution, Vanguard will follow those Event rules.
Plain English
If we post your clip, we can credit you using your name, stage name, username, team name, or profile details, unless the applicable Event rules require anonymity, pseudonymity, or restricted public attribution.
21.1 Minors and Publicity Consent
Where a Participant is under the age of majority and participation is permitted under the applicable Event Terms, Vanguard may require consent from the Participant’s parent or legal guardian before using the Participant’s name, stage name, username, likeness, profile elements, Submission, or related Event information for promotional, publicity, showcase, or media purposes under this License.
If required parent or legal guardian consent is not provided in a form acceptable to Vanguard, Vanguard may restrict or decline promotional use of the Participant’s content or identifying information, except where such use is otherwise permitted by applicable law or required for Event administration, recordkeeping, integrity, or legal compliance.
22. Governing Terms, Law, and Venue
This License is part of and incorporated into Vanguard’s Terms of Service.
Governing law, venue/jurisdiction, and other legal baseline terms are as stated in the Terms of Service.
Plain English
Legal baseline rules follow Vanguard’s Terms of Service.
23. Operator Details
Operator details and official contacts are provided in the Terms of Service and apply to this License by reference.
Plain English
Official contact info is in the Terms of Service.
24. Participant Benefits
Promoting participant content helps to:
- put strong works in front of a wider audience;
- build an ongoing portfolio and public participation history;
- highlight winners and finalists;
- create “best of” selections and showcases;
- attract attention from brands, organizers, and partners;
- grow opportunities inside the Vanguard ecosystem.
Promotion is not guaranteed, and visibility depends on the strength of the work and other factors.
Plain English
If your work is strong, it gets seen. This is a stage, not a transfer of rights.
25. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Important Note: The following FAQs are for guidance only and do not alter the terms of this License.
❓ Do you take my rights?
No. Your copyright and ownership remain yours.
❓ Can you sell my track/video/design?
No — not as a standalone product. Any expanded commercial use requires a separate written agreement.
❓ Will Vanguard make money around my content?
Yes, through sponsorships, ads, partner activations, and event promotion — not by selling your content.
❓ Will you use AI on my work?
We may use algorithms and/or AI tools for technical and format adaptation (previews, edits, captions, trailers, thumbnails, normalization, etc.).
We do not use your content to train models “by default” unless an event rule or a separate agreement clearly says so.
❓ Can I withdraw the license later?
Yes. Email us a written notice.
We’ll stop new promo use within a reasonable time, but past publications and event archives may remain.
❓ Is this license required?
Acceptance of this License is required for participation in certain events, submissions, or promotional activities. Where required, this will be clearly presented before submission or participation.
❓ What if the event is private / closed?
If the event rules restrict promotion, the event rules apply.
We will not exceed what the event rules and your selections allow.
❓ Will you credit me?
We typically credit your stage name/username and the event name when format allows.
If the event is anonymous, we follow the anonymity settings.
26. Acceptance
By checking the acceptance box, accepting electronically, submitting content where this License is required, or otherwise confirming acceptance through the Vanguard Platform or Pathfinder interface, you confirm that you:
- have read and understood this License;
- agree to be legally bound by this License;
- own or have the rights needed to submit the content;
- have the authority to grant the rights described in this License; and
- if acting on behalf of a team, organization, or other rightsholder, have the authority to bind that team, organization, or rightsholder to this License.
27. Final acceptance text (checkbox copy)
By checking the box and submitting content, you agree to the following:
“I hereby authorize Vanguard to use my submitted content (or parts of it) for informational and promotional purposes related to Vanguard, its events, and the ecosystem, including reasonable technical and editorial formatting, in accordance with the Vanguard Content Promotion & Media License.”
This confirms your acceptance of this License.