Merchants grant Shopify a worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable license to use, modify, distribute, and create derivative works from all materials uploaded to the platform, and irrevocably waive all moral rights in those materials in Shopify's favour. This license and waiver can be exercised by any party to whom Shopify transfers or sub-licenses those rights.
This analysis describes what Shopify'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 Shopify and its sub-licensees a broad set of rights over merchant-uploaded content, including the right to create derivative works and publicly perform materials. The irrevocable moral rights waiver applies not only to Shopify but to any downstream party receiving rights through Shopify, and the license is stated to survive account termination to the extent required for obligations arising during the term.
Interpretive note: The enforceability of the moral rights waiver varies by jurisdiction; in some EU member states and Canada, moral rights may not be fully waivable by contract, which may limit the practical scope of this provision for merchants in those territories.
The updated terms clarify the legal identity of the Shopify entity you contract with and establish which courts have exclusive jurisdiction to resolve disputes, depending on your store's billing address. Previously, the terms specified exclusive jurisdiction by region (Ontario for US/Canada, Singapore for Asia Pacific, Ireland for EMEA and other areas). The revised structure presents this information in a table format and adds explicit language stating that disputes can only be brought in the courts listed for your region, with those courts having exclusive jurisdiction. Shopify Inc. may act as a billing agent for other Shopify entities to collect fees and remit taxes in some jurisdictions. You can review the contracting party and forum table in Section 13 to confirm which entity and courts apply to your store based on your billing address.
View change record →This provision establishes that all materials uploaded by merchants, including product descriptions, images, videos, and other business content, are subject to a royalty-free worldwide license granted to Shopify and its sublicensees, and that merchants irrevocably waive moral rights in those materials. The agreement further states that removing a Shopify Store does not terminate rights or licenses that Shopify requires to exercise obligations that arose during the term.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Broad Intellectual Property License and Moral Rights Waiver and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"You hereby grant Shopify a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to host, use, distribute, expose, modify, run, copy, store, publicly perform, communicate to the public (including by telecommunication), broadcast, reproduce, make available, display, and translate, and create derivative works of your Materials. You irrevocably waive any and all moral rights you may have in the Materials in favour of Shopify and agree that this waiver may be invoked by anyone who obtains rights in the materials through Shopify, including anyone to whom Shopify may transfer or grant (including by way of license or sublicense) any rights in the Materials.Excerpt from Shopify's Terms of Service
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This provision grants Shopify and its sub-licensees a broad set of rights over merchant-uploaded content, including the right to create derivative works and publicly perform materials. The irrevocable moral rights waiver applies not only to Shopify but to any downstream party receiving rights through Shopify, and the license is stated to survive account termination to the extent required for obligations …
This provision establishes that all materials uploaded by merchants, including product descriptions, images, videos, and other business content, are subject to a royalty-free worldwide license granted to Shopify and its sublicensees, and that merchants irrevocably waive moral rights in those materials. The agreement further states that removing a Shopify Store does not terminate rights or licenses that Shopify requires to …
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