Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult with an intellectual property attorney for specific cases.
The question "Who owns AI art?" is the single most debated topic in the creative world. In 2025, the dust has started to settle, but the landscape is still complex. This guide breaks down the current laws in the US, EU, and UK, and explains exactly what you can and cannot do with your AI generations.
Part 1: The Core Question - Can AI Art be Copyrighted?
In the United States, the Copyright Office (USCO) has maintained a firm stance: Copyright requires human authorship.
The "Zarya of the Dawn" Precedent
The landmark case involved a comic book called "Zarya of the Dawn." The author, Kris Kashtanova, used Midjourney to create the images but wrote the story and arranged the layout herself.
The Ruling: The USCO granted copyright for the text and the arrangement of the images, but denied copyright for the individual AI images themselves.
The Takeaway: If you type a prompt like "cat on a bike" and get an image, you do not own the copyright to that image. Anyone else can take it and use it. It is effectively Public Domain.
Part 2: The "Human Input" Loophole
However, it is not black and white. You can copyright AI art if there is "sufficient human creative input." But what does that mean?
What counts as "Sufficient Input"?
- ✅ Heavy Photoshop Editing: If you take the AI image and paint over 50% of it, change the lighting, and composite it with other elements, you have created a "derivative work." You own the copyright to your changes.
- ✅ Inpainting/Outpainting: Using AI as a tool to extend a canvas you painted yourself.
- ❌ Prompting: No matter how long or complex your text prompt is, the USCO currently says prompting is not "authorship." It is seen as giving instructions to a commissioned artist (the AI), not doing the work yourself.
Part 3: Commercial Use vs. Copyright
This is where people get confused. You do not need copyright to sell something.
Most AI platforms (including Percify, Midjourney, and DALL-E) grant you Commercial Rights in their Terms of Service.
What "Commercial Rights" means:
It means the company (Percify) promises not to sue you if you sell the image. You can put it on a t-shirt, use it in a video game, or print it on a billboard. You keep 100% of the profit.
The Risk:
Because you don't have copyright, you cannot sue someone else if they copy you. If you put your AI design on a t-shirt, and Walmart copies it, you have no legal ground to stop them (unless you have a trademark, which is different).
Part 4: The "Training Data" Lawsuits
The other side of the legal coin is: "Did the AI steal from artists to learn?"
Several class-action lawsuits are ongoing against Stability AI, Midjourney, and DeviantArt. Artists claim that because the AI was trained on their work without permission, it is a copyright violation.
Current Status (2025): Courts have largely leaned towards the "Fair Use" defense. The argument is that the AI is not "collaging" existing images; it is learning styles and concepts, similar to how a human student learns by looking at Picasso. Styles cannot be copyrighted.
However, this is still being litigated. If the courts rule against AI companies, we could see a massive purge of models or a requirement to pay royalties to artists.
Part 5: Global Differences
The internet is global, but laws are local.
- United Kingdom: The UK is unique. It does allow copyright for "computer-generated works" (Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988). The "author" is the person who undertook the arrangements necessary for the creation of the work (the prompter). So, in the UK, you might actually own your AI art.
- European Union: The EU AI Act focuses more on transparency. You must disclose if content is AI-generated. Copyright stance is similar to the US (human-centric).
- Japan: Japan has extremely loose copyright laws regarding AI training data, aiming to become an AI haven.
Part 6: Best Practices for Creators
Given this messy landscape, how should you protect yourself?
- Keep Your Receipts: Save your prompts, your seed numbers, and your generation logs. If you are ever challenged, you need to prove you created it.
- Add Human Value: Don't just sell raw generations. Edit them. Color grade them. Add text. The more you touch it, the more "yours" it becomes legally.
- Read the ToS: Make sure you are on a "Paid Plan." Free tiers of many tools often restrict commercial use. (Percify's paid plans grant full commercial rights).
- Be Transparent: Don't lie and say you painted it. The community (and algorithms) are getting good at spotting fakes. Honesty builds trust.
Create with confidence.
Percify's Enterprise Plan includes full commercial indemnification.
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