Copyright and commercial-use checklist for generated images

Images made by AI alone are hard to protect, and each service's terms decide commercial use. Here's what to check before you use one, and what to keep on record.

Key ideas

1. 1

   Images made by AI alone are hard to protect

   Copyright protects works that express human thoughts or feelings. So Korea's government says output generated automatically by AI isn't protected, and only the parts where a person added creative expression can be. The U.S. Copyright Office reached a similar conclusion in its January 2025 report: prompts alone aren't enough. It also found that using AI as a tool doesn't, by itself, rule out protection.

   Without protection, it's hard to stop someone else reusing the same image. For brand assets you'll use for years, like a logo or a character, put in substantial work of your own and keep a record of it.

   This is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries, and even within one country each case is judged on its facts. For high-value contracts or anything that could end in a dispute, get a legal review.

   How protection depends on how the image was made (summary of government guidance)

   How it was made	U.S. Copyright Office (2025 report)	Korean government guidance
   Prompt only, image used as generated	Prompts alone are not enough	Output generated automatically by AI is not protected
   A person creatively modifies the output	Creative modifications can be protected	Creative expression a person adds can be protected, for that part only
   Your own drawing or photo used as input	Human-authored work visible in the output can be protected	Can be protected where human creative contribution is recognized (case by case)
   A person arranges several outputs creatively	A creative arrangement can be protected	Can be protected where human creative contribution is recognized (case by case)

2. 2

   Each service's terms decide commercial use

   Whether you can use a generated image commercially is first a question for the terms of the service you used. Terms differ between services, can differ between plans of the same service, and change over time. Don't rely on what you heard about another service — read the current terms of the one you use.

   Even if the terms say the rights to outputs belong to you, that doesn't create a copyright. According to Korean government guidance, even when an AI company hands users all rights to outputs and allows commercial use, the user doesn't gain copyright and can't stop others from reusing the output.

   Check it

   • Is commercial use allowed, and do the same conditions apply to your plan?
   • Who holds the rights to outputs, and are any uses prohibited?
   • Is there a clause where the provider shares responsibility if an IP dispute arises (indemnity), and which plans does it cover?
3. 3

   Make sure you aren't infringing anyone else's rights

   Separate from whether your image is protected, the output itself may infringe someone else's rights. AI can produce results that resemble what it learned from, so images close to existing characters or logos do turn up.

   Korean government guidance asks users to make sure the text and images they feed into AI don't infringe anyone's copyright, and to take care when sharing outputs. Using a real person's face without permission can raise portrait-rights issues, even when AI made it.

   Checking for other people's rights

   Check	Why	How
   Does it resemble a famous character?	It may infringe the copyright in that character	Keep character names out of prompts, and compare the output with well-known characters
   Does it resemble another company's logo or trademark?	It can raise trademark issues or be mistaken for another brand	Zoom in on signs, packaging and clothing patterns
   Is there a face that looks like a real person?	Anyone can refuse commercial use of their likeness without permission (portrait rights)	Keep real people's names out of prompts, and regenerate if it resembles someone
   Did you copy an artist's style by name?	Results can come close to that artist's actual works, inviting disputes	Describe style by technique, medium and period instead of a name
   Do you have the right to use the images you put in?	Transforming photos or drawings you don't have rights to can infringe	Only input images you made or have permission to use

4. 4

   Labeling AI-generated images

   Korea's AI Basic Act, in force since 22 January 2026, requires businesses that provide generative AI, or products and services that use it, to label outputs as made by generative AI. Virtual images or videos that are hard to tell from reality must be disclosed or labeled so users can clearly recognize them, and artistic or creative works may be labeled in a way that doesn't get in the way of viewing them.

   The Act places this duty on what it calls AI business operators: those who develop and provide AI, and those who provide products or services that use it. Methods and exceptions are left to a presidential decree, so whether your work falls under it depends on what you do. Many platforms also have their own rules for labeling AI-generated content, so check the policy of wherever you post.

   Check it

   • If the image looks like a real photo or video, is it labeled so viewers can tell it's AI-generated?
   • Have you checked the AI-content labeling policy of the platform you're posting to?
5. 5

   Keep a record of how you made it

   What can be protected is the part a person contributed, and if a dispute arises, what you'll need to explain is what you did. Note the tool and plan, the date, the prompt and the human work as you go — it's hard to fill in from memory later.

   It's handy to jot rough notes and ask a chat assistant to turn them into a table. Ask it to mark unknown fields "To confirm" so it doesn't invent anything that isn't in your notes.

   A delivery record template

   Field	Why record it
   Tool and plan	Conditions can differ between plans of the same service
   Date and terms check	Terms change, so this shows what you checked and when
   Prompt and settings	Shows what you asked for, and lets you recreate it
   Output chosen	Which one you picked, out of how many
   Human work	Evidence of the human contribution that can be protected
   Rights check	A record that you checked for characters, logos, faces and styles
   AI label	Where and how it was labeled

   Turn the notes below into a delivery record table with seven fields: tool and plan, date and terms check, prompt and settings, output chosen, human work, rights check, AI label. Don't invent anything that isn't in the notes — write "To confirm" instead.
   Notes: background for the autumn campaign poster. Image service A, paid team plan. Generated 2026-10-14; checked the terms the same day — commercial use allowed. Prompt: "misty morning lakeside, wooden boat, watercolor feel, muted colors", aspect ratio 4:5. Made 12, picked no. 7. In Photoshop, redrew the boat and corrected the sky color; added the logo and copy by hand.

   Here's the delivery record for the autumn campaign poster background. The two fields not covered by your notes are marked "To confirm."

   The delivery record the assistant produced (example)

   Field	Details
   Tool and plan	Image service A, paid team plan
   Date and terms check	Generated 2026-10-14; terms checked the same day, commercial use allowed
   Prompt and settings	"Misty morning lakeside, wooden boat, watercolor feel, muted colors", aspect ratio 4:5
   Output chosen	No. 7 of 12
   Human work	Redrew the boat and corrected the sky color in Photoshop; added the logo and copy by hand
   Rights check	To confirm
   AI label	To confirm

   Check it

   • Fill in every "To confirm" field yourself before delivery. If the assistant filled a blank with something plausible, check it against your notes and remove it.
   • Terms can change, so keep a link to or a screenshot of the terms as they stood on the day you checked, alongside the record.