What a licence manifest actually is
A manifest is one document that answers a single question - "prove the content is licensed" - for every third-party asset in a product. Grouped by source, each row carries the asset, its licence type, the order reference, where it is used, and whether any flag is still open. It is not a legal opinion and it is not a contract; it is an inventory with evidence. The reason it exists as a named thing is that the request always arrives with a deadline: a publishing agreement's IP schedule, a client's delivery checklist, or an acquirer's data-room questionnaire. The studio that can produce it in an afternoon looks fundable; the one that needs three weeks looks like risk.
| Column | Why diligence wants it |
|---|---|
| Asset & source | Identifies exactly what was used and where it came from |
| Licence type | Shows the grant covers the way you shipped it |
| Order ref / date / price | Ties the entitlement to a real, dated transaction |
| Usage & entity | Confirms Single/Multi Entity and seat coverage |
| Open flags | Surfaces anything unresolved before they find it |
The proof behind each row
A licence you cannot evidence is a question you cannot close, so the manifest is only as strong as the proof sitting behind it. For each asset keep the order ID or invoice from the marketplace, tied to an account your studio controls, together with the date, price and licence tier. For claim-based content - pre-2025 free Megascans being the classic case - keep the claim record, because the entitlement was established by the claim, not a purchase. When the original artefact is gone, a dated screenshot that shows the account and order is far better than nothing. The habit that makes this painless is capturing the proof when the asset arrives, not reconstructing it years later once the marketplace has changed its terms twice and the artist who bought it has left.
Build the register fast, not by hand
The objection to keeping a register is always the same: typing hundreds of assets is a job nobody has time for. Two features remove that objection.
The receipt paste-parser. Paste a marketplace order email or receipt and the parser reads off the order reference, date, price and source, pre-filling the row so you only review it and pick the licence. A folder of confirmation emails becomes a register in one sitting rather than a data-entry marathon.
CSV import. If you already track purchases in a spreadsheet - or you exported someone else's list - import it. The importer round-trips the export, so the CSV you get out is the CSV you can bring back in, which makes bulk edits, back-catalogue migration and handoffs between team members trivial. Add JSON backup/restore and the register is portable without ever touching a server.
Export the manifest and the credits
Once the register is populated, the deliverables generate rather than get compiled. The licence manifest exports as a clean, printable document grouped by source - the exact artefact diligence asked for. The credits block builder collects every recorded attribution line into one copy-paste block and a downloadable CREDITS.txt, satisfying CC BY, OFL and stock credit lines in one pass. And the full register exports as CSV for a producer or lawyer who wants the raw grid. One populated register, three exports, no scramble.
How the register ties it together
Asset Licence Register is the manifest as software: the receipt parser and CSV import get assets in quickly, the built-in licence catalogue and automatic flags keep each row honest, and the manifest, CREDITS.txt and CSV come out the other end in one click. It runs entirely in your browser - the register and every receipt you paste stay local - and it is free with no account, so there is nothing to upload and nothing to buy before you can produce a due-diligence pack.