Midjourney’s Commercial Usage Rights: What Entrepreneurs Need to Know

Midjourney allows commercial use of images only for paid subscribers, including Basic, Standard, and Pro plans, enabling entrepreneurs to legally sell, publish, or use AI-generated content for business purposes such as marketing, branding, and freelance projects. Free users or trial users do not have commercial rights to use the images.

Key points entrepreneurs need to know about Midjourney’s commercial usage rights:

• Ownership: You own all images and videos you create with Midjourney, even if you cancel your subscription, and can use them commercially within your subscription rights.

• Subscription requirements:

  • Paid plans grant commercial licenses.
  • Businesses with gross revenue over $1,000,000 USD must use the Pro or Mega Plan for commercial use.

• Restrictions:

  • You cannot claim exclusive copyright or authorship of AI-generated images, as AI images are not copyrighted under US law.
  • Images created by users below the Pro Plan tier are publicly accessible and can be used by others, meaning your images may be reused or remixed by other paying users.
  • If you upscale an image created by another user, that image belongs to the original creator, and you need their permission to use it commercially.

• Trademark use: You cannot use Midjourney’s trademarks for commercial purposes beyond truthful descriptive references.

• Legal considerations: Midjourney advises consulting legal experts for copyright or trademark questions, as laws vary by jurisdiction.

• Business considerations:

  • Midjourney images are public domain in effect, so businesses should consider risks of brand dilution or competitors using similar AI-generated visuals.
  • Singapore businesses should also consider data privacy laws (e.g., PDPA) and brand consistency challenges when using Midjourney commercially.

• Practical advice: Always review Midjourney’s Terms of Service before commercial use and consider the subscription plan that fits your business scale and needs to avoid legal complications.

In summary, entrepreneurs can confidently use Midjourney images commercially if they are paid subscribers and comply with plan-specific rules, but should be aware that AI-generated images lack traditional copyright protection and may be publicly accessible and reused by others.