Users grant Coursera a worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, copy, reproduce, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display, and distribute any content they submit to the platform across current and future media formats, including making that content available to third-party partners for syndication or distribution. This license applies to all user-submitted content including forum posts, assignment submissions, and course reviews.
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
This provision grants Coursera broad rights over user-submitted content without financial compensation to users, including the right to sublicense content to third-party partners for distribution or syndication purposes. Institutional users should assess whether employee or student-generated content submitted through Coursera deployments falls within this license scope and whether it conflicts with institutional intellectual property policies.
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 →Provision renamed and reworded to remove ownership clarification language while adding explicit rights to 'provide, promote, and improve the Services' and expand availability rights.
View full change record →Under this clause, any content a user submits to Coursera, including forum contributions, assignment work, and reviews, is licensed to Coursera on a royalty-free basis with sublicensing rights to third-party partners. The agreement does not provide for compensation to users when their submitted content is used or distributed.
How other platforms handle this
we may closely review accounts that offer the following services, products, or content: Online trading, day trading tips, and stock market related content
Paid Subscribers can select whether Content is public or private.
If Your Content is prohibited under the laws of any jurisdiction where our Services are available, we may remove it even if it is not illegal in your location.
"By submitting Content through our Services, you grant Coursera a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sublicense) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed). You agree that this license includes the right for Coursera to provide, promote, and improve the Services and to make Content submitted to or through the Services available to other companies, organizations or individuals who partner with Coursera for the syndication, broadcast, distribution or publication of such Content on other media and services.Excerpt from Coursera's Terms of Use
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: The breadth of this content license may require evaluation under GDPR Article 6 lawful basis requirements for EU/EEA users, as sublicensing personal data-containing content to third parties may constitute a new processing purpose …
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This provision grants Coursera broad rights over user-submitted content without financial compensation to users, including the right to sublicense content to third-party partners for distribution or syndication purposes. Institutional users should assess whether employee or student-generated content submitted through Coursera deployments falls within this license scope and whether it conflicts with institutional intellectual property policies.
Under this clause, any content a user submits to Coursera, including forum contributions, assignment work, and reviews, is licensed to Coursera on a royalty-free basis with sublicensing rights to third-party partners. The agreement does not provide for compensation to users when their submitted content is used or distributed.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 262 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Coursera.