EU AI icon on video: burn it into the MP4 with Timeline compose

To put the EU icon on an AI video so it stays when the file is shared, put it in the picture itself. Timeline compose with operation: "overlay" places one still, such as the Commission's PNG icon, on one Sume-hosted video and returns a new MP4. Sume adds no icon on its own, and this is not legal advice.

Icon rules are from the Commission's icons page; compose behavior from Timeline compose. Both read 2026-09-30.

What does the Commission say about placement?

The page gives a summary, not a complete overview, and points to section 2 of the Code of Practice for the detail. Its points: the icon should be clearly perceivable at the latest at first exposure; placed where no intervening overlay elements exist; and directly embedded into the deepfake, unless equivalent alternatives such as a user interface overlay are available. It also says the icon must be visible when content is reshared or downloaded.

Use is optional and does not establish legal compliance by itself. The icons come in four variations: black, white, black with 50% transparency, and white with 50% transparency.

How does compose put it on the video?

Compose takes one still and one video and returns one MP4 with both on screen. The still is held for the whole clip, so it is there from the first frame. Both URLs must already be this workspace's media.sume.com artifact or asset, so import the icon PNG and the clip first with POST /v1/media-imports. Idempotency-Key is required.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/timeline-1.0/compose \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: eu-icon-clip-001" \
  -d '{
    "operation": "overlay",
    "image": { "url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_icon/icon-white.png" },
    "video": { "url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/artf_clip/clip.mp4" },
    "layout": { "position": "bottom", "width_ratio": 0.12, "margin_ratio": 0.08 }
  }'

Which layout values apply?

What should I test first?

The docs do not say whether the alpha channel of a supplied PNG is kept, so test with a 50% transparency variant before relying on it; the opaque black or white variants avoid the question. Check the result on a bright and a dark scene so nothing sits behind the icon. Output length comes from the video, with a ceiling of 300 seconds, and the public rate is $0.02 per job; confirm in GET /v1/catalog.

For a plain logo workflow, see add a logo or watermark to a video; for records to keep, what to log per generated file.