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.
This analysis describes what Square'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 establishes the scope of permitted use of Square's software and clarifies ownership interests in user-generated content. The asymmetrical license grants—limited and revocable for users, irrevocable and broad for Square—define how each party may exploit intellectual property through the platform.
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.
How other platforms handle this
When you share, post, or upload content that is covered by intellectual property rights (like photos or videos) in or in connection with our products, you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly per...
In order to operate and provide our Services, you grant WhatsApp a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works of, display, and perform the information (including the content) that you upload, submit, store, s...
Exafunction may collect, generate, and derive Usage Data for Exafunction's lawful business purposes, including to: (1) monitor, operate, improve, and support the Service and its performance, security, and stability; (2) create analytics, benchmarking, and performance data and reports; and (3) develo...
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"Square grants you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable license to use the software provided as part of the Services, for the sole purpose of accessing and using the Services in accordance with these terms. You grant Square a worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, copy, modify, create derivative works based upon, distribute, publicly display, and publicly perform any content that you upload or provide in connection with the Services.— Excerpt from Square's Square Terms of Service
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.
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This provision establishes the scope of permitted use of Square's software and clarifies ownership interests in user-generated content. The asymmetrical license grants—limited and revocable for users, irrevocable and broad for Square—define how each party may exploit intellectual property through the platform.
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.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 6 platforms. See the full comparison.
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