Effective: October 6, 2026.
These Contributor Network Terms ("Contributor Terms") govern participation in the Canadian Legal News ("CLN") Contributor Network. They supplement the CLN Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If these Contributor Terms conflict with the general Terms of Use in relation to the Contributor Network, these Contributor Terms control.
1. Account and application
Creating a contributor account is free and does not guarantee acceptance into the Contributor Network. CLN may approve, reject, request changes to, suspend or discontinue an application or participation in the program in its discretion, subject to any binding written agreement. Applicants must provide accurate, current information and keep their account credentials secure.
2. Sponsorship and editorial independence
The Contributor Network is a sponsored publishing program. Payment or participation does not purchase favourable newsroom coverage, editorial influence, the suppression of reporting, a professional endorsement, certification, ranking, award or specialist designation. CLN retains independent editorial control over its newsroom and over whether, when and how sponsored contributor material is published.
CLN may edit, fact-check, reject, defer, remove, correct, label or otherwise manage submitted material to protect readers, comply with law, enforce editorial standards and preserve the distinction between sponsored material and independent journalism.
3. Sponsored-content disclosure
Contributor articles will be prominently identified as "Sponsored Contributor Content," "Sponsored," or with another clear disclosure communicating the commercial relationship. Contributors authorize CLN to add and maintain those disclosures and must not represent sponsored material as independent CLN newsroom reporting.
4. Licence granted to CLN
As between the contributor and CLN, the contributor retains any copyright the contributor owns in submitted material. By submitting any article, draft, image, graphic, biography, photograph, document or other material to the Contributor Network, however, the contributor grants CLN a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free and fully paid-up licence to reproduce, publish, republish, host, store, archive, distribute, transmit, communicate to the public, display, perform, edit, adapt, format, translate, excerpt, syndicate, promote, market, create derivative works from and otherwise use that material, in whole or in part, in any media or technology now known or later developed, for CLN's editorial, publishing, archival, promotional, commercial and business purposes.
This licence is granted without any obligation for CLN to pay additional royalties, licence fees or other compensation unless CLN expressly agrees otherwise in writing. The licence survives cancellation, suspension, expiry or termination of a contributor account or membership.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the contributor waives in favour of CLN and its licensees any moral rights the contributor may have in submitted material and agrees to obtain any equivalent waiver or consent reasonably required from co-authors, photographers or other rights holders whose material the contributor submits.
5. Contributor representations
By submitting material, the contributor represents and warrants that:
- the contributor has authority to submit the material and grant the rights described above;
- the material is original to the contributor or all required permissions and licences have been obtained;
- the material does not knowingly infringe copyright, trademark, privacy, confidentiality, publicity or other rights;
- factual and professional representations are accurate and not misleading;
- the material does not contain privileged, confidential, restricted or unlawfully obtained information unless disclosure is properly authorized; and
- the contributor will comply with laws, professional obligations and advertising or marketing rules applicable to the contributor.
6. Active membership and article availability
Public availability of sponsored contributor articles is a benefit of active paid participation in the Contributor Network. Unless CLN agrees otherwise in writing, if a contributor's applicable membership is paused, cancelled, expired, terminated or otherwise inactive, CLN will disable public access to all sponsored contributor articles associated with that membership, including articles published before the membership became inactive.
Taking an article offline does not revoke, terminate or limit the licence granted to CLN under section 4. CLN may retain copies for archival, legal, security, compliance, recordkeeping and other licensed purposes, and may restore public access if the contributor's membership is reactivated or CLN otherwise has a right to do so.
7. Fees and program changes
Current sponsorship options and fees are shown inside authenticated contributor accounts. Fees may change prospectively. An application does not itself constitute a charge or guarantee acceptance. Any accepted pricing, billing period, taxes, renewal rules, cancellation terms and payment obligations may also be reflected in the checkout, order, invoice or other written commercial terms presented by CLN.
8. No guarantee of publication or results
CLN does not guarantee that any submitted article will be published, remain published for a particular period, achieve a particular audience, search ranking, number of views, referral volume, lead volume or commercial result. Editorial, legal, technical and program requirements may affect publication.
9. Professional responsibility
Contributors remain responsible for complying with the rules governing their profession, including rules concerning advertising, marketing, confidentiality, conflicts, professional designations and claims of expertise. Participation in the Contributor Network does not make CLN responsible for a contributor's professional obligations.
10. Suspension and termination
CLN may suspend or terminate participation for non-payment, material breach, misleading or unlawful content, infringement concerns, conduct that threatens readers or the integrity of CLN, or other reasonable program grounds. Rights intended by their nature to survive termination, including the licence in section 4 and accrued payment obligations, survive.
11. Governing law
These Contributor Terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in Ontario, subject to any mandatory law that applies. The courts of Ontario have jurisdiction over disputes arising from these Contributor Terms unless a binding written agreement provides otherwise.
12. Contact
Questions about the Contributor Network may be sent to info@canadianlegalnews.ca.