This analysis describes what Coursera's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The license is perpetual and fully transferable, meaning Coursera can use, share, and sublicense user content indefinitely and without payment, even if the user later leaves the platform.
The updated refund policy establishes a new condition under which Coursera may deny refund requests: when a significant portion of the course content has been accessed prior to submitting the refund request. This addition does not replace existing denial grounds such as policy violations, repeated refund requests, or chargeback activity, but adds an access-based threshold alongside them. The terms do not define what constitutes a significant portion of content, leaving that determination to Coursera's discretion. Learners who access substantial course materials before requesting a refund may find their request denied under this provision.
View change record →The updated terms establish new procedural requirements for refunds on Coursera subscription plans. According to the revised language, canceling a subscription will stop future billing but will not automatically issue a refund; refunds must be requested separately. The terms now explicitly state that refunds will not be provided for renewal charges on annual subscription plans. For Specializations purchased through subscriptions, users may request a full refund within the applicable 7-day refund period or before earning a certificate, whichever occurs first. You can request a refund separately through Coursera's Support Services, but the updated terms indicate this is a manual process rather than an automatic one upon cancellation.
View change record →The updated terms no longer specify refund eligibility for users in India who prepay for specializations or Coursera Plus plans. Previously, these customers could request full refunds within 7 days of payment or before earning a certificate for any course included in their purchase, whichever occurred first. The removal of this language means refund terms for Indian prepaid customers are no longer explicitly defined in the publicly stated agreement, leaving refund policies unclear for this user segment.
View change record →Any content you submit to Coursera may be used, copied, modified, distributed, or sublicensed by Coursera permanently and worldwide without compensating you.
How other platforms handle this
You do not have any rights in relation to Member Content, and, unless expressly authorized by Tinder, you may only use Member Content to the extent that your use is consistent with our Services' purpose...
We hereby grant you a limited, revocable, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license under the rights licensable by us to use the services and use Content from our services solely for your personal use...
Upwork grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the executable code version of the Software for your use solely in connection with work you perform on or through the Site.
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"you grant Coursera a fully-transferable, royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable, non-exclusive, worldwide license to copy, distribute, modify, create derivative works based on, publicly perform, publicly display, and otherwise use the User Content.— Excerpt from Coursera's Coursera Terms of Use
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The license is perpetual and fully transferable, meaning Coursera can use, share, and sublicense user content indefinitely and without payment, even if the user later leaves the platform.
Any content you submit to Coursera may be used, copied, modified, distributed, or sublicensed by Coursera permanently and worldwide without compensating you.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 256 platforms. See the full comparison.
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