A rights API for an AI video product should answer a precise question about a specific asset and use. Its contract must make the decision source, checked scope, and unresolved conditions visible.
Model the rights entities explicitly
An API may need organizations, users, assets, rights holders, evidence, terms versions, client requests, provider reviews, and audit events. Keep ownership and tenant boundaries in the data model so a request cannot accidentally expose another organization's evidence.
Use stable IDs and clear lifecycle states. A revoked or expired record should remain traceable for historical review without being selectable for a new request.
Return an explainable decision
A check response should include the asset, request scope, terms version, status, decision source, and reason. For example, a blocked result should indicate whether the issue is missing evidence, expired scope, a restriction, or an unavailable provider.
Separate allowed, denied, pending, and unknown. Unknown is not allowed. The consuming product should not reduce a multi-part decision to a boolean that hides the conditions.
Version changes and audit events
When a contributor or rights owner changes terms, create a new version and define which future requests it affects. Preserve the version checked for a particular request so the product can explain the basis of a later decision.
Audit events should show the actor, action, timestamp, and affected record without unnecessarily copying sensitive media or personal data into logs.
Make the provider contract part of the design
Document which statuses are created by an internal rules engine and which are returned by an authorized provider. Validate webhook signatures, tenant identifiers, and callback idempotency before accepting provider events.
Approved.video is being built as a rights and workflow layer for studios and app builders. Its public API capabilities depend on authorized service integrations; an internal rights check does not become a provider approval.
CLARIFICATIONS
Questions & answers
Should a rights API return a simple approved boolean?
A simple boolean can be misleading. Return the decision source, scope checked, current status, and reason for a hold or denial.