Influencer marketing can quickly increase a brand’s visibility, but it also carries legal risks, particularly concerning brand rights. Our legal trainee, Nea Pohtamo, has identified four key areas that companies should consider when planning collaborations with influencers.
1. Contracts and responsibilities
According to the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority’s (KKV) updated guidance from January 2025, both the company and the professional influencer are responsible for ensuring that commercial collaborations are clearly and understandably disclosed. The consumer must be able to immediately recognize that the content is an advertisement. The primary label should be the word “Mainos” (Advertisement). Alternatively, the label “Kaupallinen yhteistyö” (Commercial collaboration) may be used, but hashtags such as #advertisement are no longer recommended.
Labels must also be clearly and prominently displayed, for example at the very beginning of the caption, so that the consumer recognizes the commercial nature of the content at first glance. KKV’s guidance emphasizes this requirement of visibility and clarity.
The company should provide the influencer with clear instructions on how to disclose collaborations and monitor that these instructions are followed. The contract should include a clause defining the influencer’s responsibility for the accuracy, legality, and good taste of the content.
It is also important to agree on the parties’ responsibilities in situations where the influencer’s actions result in third-party copyright or trademark claims. The company’s right to pre-approve published content is a crucial tool in practice to ensure that the material does not contain false claims, covert advertising, or disparaging comparisons with competitors.
2. Protection of brand rights in influencer marketing
In influencer marketing, the brand’s visual identity, recognizability, and reputation are central and at the same time, exposed to legal and commercial risks. The brand name, slogan, logo, and other brand elements should be protected through registered brand rights. Unauthorized use of these rights can result in significant legal and financial consequences.
The risk can apply both to the company’s own brand and to third-party rights. For example, if an influencer uses music, images, or a competitor’s trademarks without proper authorization, both the brand’s reputation and its legal position may be jeopardized. It is therefore reasonable for the company to require that the influencer obtains all necessary licenses and takes responsibility for the rights to the material they use.
Influencer agreements should include a clear definition of the scope in which the influencer is allowed to use the company’s brand rights. Providing brand guidelines to the influencer is a well-established part of professional collaboration and helps avoid misunderstandings.
Additionally, conducting a trademark search before launching a campaign is a recommended risk management measure. It ensures that the brand name, logo, or other brand element used in the campaign does not infringe third-party registered rights. A preliminary search can help prevent potential trademark disputes, litigation, and compensation claims that could cause significant financial losses and reputational damage to the brand.
3. Monitoring and supervision
The company’s responsibility is not only to provide the influencer with clear instructions on how to disclose commercial collaborations, but also to ensure that these instructions are followed.
This means that influencer posts should be monitored both before publication and during and after the campaign. Monitoring helps to ensure that the content does not contain misleading claims or offensive elements, and that the consumer immediately understands that the content is an advertisement. If problems arise, the company must have the right to intervene, for example by requiring the immediate removal of incorrect content and, if necessary, pursuing compensation claims.
According to the KKV’s updated guidance from January 2025, responsibility for disclosing commercial collaborations lies not only with the influencer but also with the partnering company. Simply giving instructions to the influencer is not sufficient. The company must also monitor and ensure that the disclosures are made in line with the guidance and that the content complies with the law. If the disclosures are not made properly, liability may also fall on the company.
In practice, this means that the company must establish clear procedures both for monitoring influencer collaborations and for correcting any errors. Regular monitoring and documented processes help ensure that the collaboration meets the standards required by the Consumer Protection Act and allow the company to effectively minimize risks related to both reputation and legal claims.
4. International perspectives
Because influencer content spreads across national borders, companies must also take EU law into account. The key regulatory framework is the EU Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices, which requires that commercial content must always be recognizable as advertising. If the advertising intent is not apparent from the context, it must be clearly and visibly disclosed, including in influencer marketing.
The directive prohibits covert advertising and misleading practices, such as unclear or hard-to-detect disclosures. While member states may provide more specific guidance, the obligation is EU-wide. Consumers must be able to immediately recognize when content is an advertisement. This requirement applies to all companies engaging in influencer collaborations within the EU, regardless of where the content is published.
As influencer content increasingly reaches international audiences, companies must therefore consider not only the EU’s common regulatory framework but also the national rules of each target country. Companies should ensure that the content complies with the legislation and regulatory guidelines of the target country.
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