Copyright on AI images

Today, there are a number of tools for producing images, text and sound using artificial intelligence, AI.

For copyright to be applicable, the creator of the work must be human and must have been able to make free creative choices. Therefore, there is no copyright on an image that is entirely produced with an AI tool where you have asked the computer to create an image based on a text instruction. However, the right of use may be protected through terms of use that you agreed to when you created an account in the tool.

Our copyright expert Thomas Riesler explains:

Frågor och svar om bilder och AI

 

Yes

No

Unclear

Comments

Do I have copyright on an image I created in an AI image generator?

 

x

 

But if it is altered to the extent that it becomes AI-assisted, copyright may arise. The assessment is made by the court.

If I use fully AI-generated images that lack copyright, can anyone use them without asking me?

x

 

 

 

Can I use the image completely freely?

 

 

x

You need to look at the terms of service you agreed to when using the service.

If I receive an image from an AI tool that has taken material from someone else to create the image, and I thereby commit copyright infringement by using the image, will it be my fault then?

x

 

 

You can never blame the AI tool; you are responsible for ensuring that you do not commit copyright infringement when using images you have received from the AI tool.

Is it illegal to use images created by AI in my business?

 

x

 

So far, there are no legal cases that make this type of material illegal. However, AI-created images are no different when it comes to copyright infringement. You are not allowed to steal others' works (such as copying a well-known comic character and using it in an AI-generated image).

If the way AI has been trained so far becomes illegal, will my AI-generated images and texts become illegal?

 

 

x

There are no legal cases yet that point in that direction.

If I use an AI-generated image as the basis for an entirely new work that I create, do I have copyright on the new image?

x

x

 

Copyright arises when a natural person has made enough free and creative choices to create something unique, from a copyright perspective. A court determines whether copyright has been established.

Can I be sued if I claim to have copyright on a 100% AI-generated image?

x

 

 

It is considered fraud.
 

Do AI platforms have the right to train their AI using material they have gathered from the internet?

 

 

x

Legal cases are ongoing in the USA, Germany, and other countries.

 

 

 

The Swedish Patent and Registration Office