Buyer guide

When a contract ends

What to expect when a license's usage period ends, and how to keep using it afterward.

When the contract period ends

A license can be used during the usage period on the certificate (start date to last day of use). After the last day of use, it expires at 00:00 the next day and can't be used from that day. Dates are based on the contract time zone set at the time of the order, so the buyer and seller see the same dates. Appearance rights are one-time contracts, so they have no expiration date.

Notices before and after the end

• When 7 days and 3 days are left until the last day of use, we send notifications and push alerts to both buyer and seller. Tapping a notification opens that deal’s order details.
• When the period ends, we send an end notice to both sides, and the deal chat room gets the message “The IP contract period has ended. To renew, please place a new IP order.”
• These are contract notices, so they can't be turned off in notification settings.

If you want to keep using it

There's no separate extension. Order the same IP again to continue under a new contract (see Buying the same IP again in Check your license). To avoid a gap, order again before the period ends and agree with the seller in chat to set the new contract's start date to the day after the current one ends. If another buyer is using that right under a fully exclusive contract, you can't buy it again.

After it ends

• You can't use the IP any further with an expired license.
• You can still download the certificate with an expired mark.
• For royalty contracts, sales must be reported and royalties paid through the month containing the last day of use. For that month, include only sales from the 1st through the last day of use.
• The deal chat room doesn't close. You can continue talking about remaining royalty reports or ordering again.
• To end a contract before its period is over, see Termination and disputes.