Intellectual Property and License Grant

What it is

You receive a limited license to use Square's software, and in return you grant Square a broad, permanent license to use content you upload through the service, including the right to create derivative works from it.

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

The license users grant to Square over uploaded content is broad and irrevocable, which means Square retains rights to use that content even after a user closes their account, subject to other provisions of the agreement.

Clause Stability Stable

Change history

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Content uploaded to Square, which may include business information, product images, and other materials, can be used by Square in a wide range of ways under this license, and the irrevocable nature of the grant means this permission persists even if the user ends the relationship with Square.

What you can do

Institutional analysis (Compliance & governance intelligence)

REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Intellectual property licensing provisions in commercial platform agreements are primarily governed by contract law and copyright law. Where uploaded content includes personal data, GDPR, CCPA, and similar privacy frameworks may impose independent limitations on how Square can use that content regardless of the contractual license grant. The FTC may have interest in whether the breadth of the license grant is adequately disclosed to users at the point of upload. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The irrevocable and sublicensable nature of the license is a provision worth flagging in due diligence, particularly for merchants who upload proprietary product images, branding materials, or other commercially sensitive content through Square's platform. The 'worldwide' scope of the license is standard for cloud-based platforms but should be noted in any IP audit. JURISDICTION FLAGS: GDPR and UK GDPR impose restrictions on the use of personal data contained within uploaded content, which may limit how Square can exercise this license for content involving EU or UK individuals regardless of the contractual grant. California's CCPA may similarly interact with the license where uploaded content includes personal information of California residents. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Merchants should assess whether the content they upload to Square includes proprietary materials that they would prefer not to license broadly. The sublicensable nature of the grant means Square may permit third parties to use such content, which should be considered in any IP strategy review. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should review what categories of content the organization uploads to Square and assess whether any IP restrictions in the organization's own agreements with content creators or partners are compatible with the license grant required by Square's terms. Data governance teams should separately assess whether uploaded content includes personal data subject to privacy law restrictions.

Provision details

Other risks in this policy

• Mandatory Arbitration and Class Action Waiver high
• Fund Hold Authority high
• Termination Without Notice medium
• User Indemnification medium
• Limitation of Liability medium
• Governing Law and Jurisdiction low

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