Authorised Source

Definition

An authorised source is the specific content a campaign grants you permission to clip from, usually named down to a channel, a show, a date range or an explicit asset list rather than granted as blanket access to everything a creator has ever published. The scope is narrow because the sponsor can only license what it actually controls, and long-form content routinely contains material it does not, including guest appearances, licensed music, third-party footage and co-produced segments. Clipping outside the authorised scope creates two distinct exposures that do not cancel out: the campaign rejects the submission as non-compliant, and the underlying rights holder retains a claim against the post itself, which can outlive the campaign. Authorisation also carries conditions beyond which content is eligible, commonly covering permitted platforms, required disclosure, prohibited edits and whether the sponsor's branding or watermark must be preserved. When scope is ambiguous, the reliable move is to ask before producing rather than after submitting, since production time spent on unauthorised material is unrecoverable.