EU AI icon on video: keep burned captions off the label

Put the icon in a band your captions never use, and add it last. Burn captions with POST /v1/video-captions, then run Timeline compose in overlay mode with position set to top or bottom, so the still is placed over the already-captioned video and no caption element is drawn over it. This is a layout recipe, not legal advice.

The European Commission's icons page (last updated 24 September 2026) says "The icon should be placed where no intervening overlay elements exist." Sume details are from Timeline compose and Video captions, read 2026-09-30.

Where do burned captions sit by default?

Mid-frame for black-outline, which is described as a white fill on a thick black outline, mid-frame. Each caption style's line centre is also tunable per request: design.placement.anchor_ratio is the line centre as a fraction of frame height. Keep it away from the band where the icon will go.

Which band should the icon use?

Compose overlay takes position as one of top, center or bottom, and margin_ratio from 0 to 0.45 of height (default 0.05). Pick the band opposite your caption anchor.

In what order do I run the two jobs?

Caption first, compose second. Compose places the still on the video file you give it, so run it on the already-captioned MP4. Captioning after composing would put caption text on top of the icon, the collision the EC wording warns about. Both inputs must be on media.sume.com (import with POST /v1/media-imports) and the call needs an Idempotency-Key; the docs list a public rate of $0.02 per job. You supply the icon image yourself.

What does the rule not tell me?

Placement beyond "no intervening overlay elements" is open: the page names no band or pixel position, only that the icon should be perceivable at the latest at first exposure. Size is a separate question, covered in how big the icon should be; the earlier first-frame recipe covers timing.