Copyright Trap: Who Owns the Art?

You generate a logo with Midjourney. You put it on a t-shirt. You sell it. A week later, you get sued. Or worse—someone steals your logo, and you can’t sue them.

The legal world of AI is the Wild West. In this guide, we will navigate the murky waters of IP (Intellectual Property) in the age of algorithms.

1. The “Monkey Selfie” Rule

In the US, copyright requires human authorship. * The Ruling: If an AI generates an image 100% on its own, nobody owns it. It is Public Domain. You can’t trademark it.

2. The Training Data Lawsuits

Artists are suing AI companies because their art was used to train the models without permission. * The Risk: If your AI logo looks too similar to Mickey Mouse, Disney will come for you. “It was AI” is not a valid defense against trademark infringement.

3. How to Protect Yourself

• Modify It: Take the AI output and significantly edit it in Photoshop. Your human edits are copyrightable.
• Check Terms: Read the ToS. Some tools claim ownership of your generations.

4. Visualizing the Scale

Look at the Copyright Scale on the right.

On one side: “Public Domain” (Pure AI). On the other: “Protected IP” (Pure Human). The goal is to add enough “Human Input” weight to tip the scale in your favor.

The Human Element

We still need humans. In fact, humans are secretly running the show. Meet the invisible workforce in: The Human Loop.