If you pay for a Midjourney subscription, you own the images you create. If you use the free plan, Midjourney owns the images and only gives you a non-commercial license to use them.
This analysis describes what Midjourney's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
Free users cannot legally sell, license, or use their generated images in commercial projects because Midjourney retains ownership; this is a critical distinction for anyone using the platform for professional or monetized creative work.
Interpretive note: The legal validity of copyright ownership in AI-generated outputs is unsettled in the US and other jurisdictions; Midjourney's claimed ownership over free-tier content may face challenge depending on regulatory and judicial developments.
Midjourney removed substantial sections from its Terms of Service covering age requirements, content rights, DMCA policy, dispute resolution, payment and billing, and community guidelines. The remova…
Free-tier users do not own their generated images and are restricted to non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, which means they cannot sell prints, use images in client work, or incorporate them into commercial products without upgrading to a paid plan.
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With respect to your use of the Service through the APIs, ownership of the output you receive from the Service ("Output") is governed by the Third-Party Model Terms, and as between you and Cerebras, Cerebras claims no ownership rights over the Outputs.
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"Subject to the above license, as between you and Midjourney, you own all Assets you create with the Services, provided that you have subscribed to a paid plan. If you are using the Services under a Free plan, Midjourney retains ownership of all Assets generated, and grants you a license under the Creative Commons Noncommercial 4.0 Attribution International License.— Excerpt from Midjourney's Midjourney Terms of Service
REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Copyright ownership and assignment in AI-generated works is an evolving area of law; the US Copyright Office has issued guidance indicating that purely AI-generated works without sufficient human authorship may not be eligible for copyright protection, which could affect the validity of Midjourney's claimed ownership over free-tier outputs. EU copyright law similarly requires human authorship for copyright subsistence. GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The ownership split is operationally clear in the document but legally uncertain given the unsettled nature of AI-generated content copyright. Businesses relying on Midjourney for commercial content production should obtain paid subscriptions and maintain records of subscription status at time of generation. JURISDICTION FLAGS: The legal validity of copyright assignments in AI-generated content varies by jurisdiction. In the US, the Copyright Office's current position limits protection for purely AI-generated works, which may affect how courts interpret Midjourney's claimed ownership. EU and UK legal frameworks may differ. CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: B2B contracts that incorporate Midjourney-generated assets should include representations and warranties about subscription status and commercial use rights at time of generation. Procurement teams should verify that employees generating assets for commercial use are on paid plans. COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Legal teams should document subscription tier at time of content generation for commercial assets. Where content will be used in client deliverables or licensed to third parties, legal review of the Creative Commons license terms and paid tier commercial rights is recommended.
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Free users cannot legally sell, license, or use their generated images in commercial projects because Midjourney retains ownership; this is a critical distinction for anyone using the platform for professional or monetized creative work.
Free-tier users do not own their generated images and are restricted to non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, which means they cannot sell prints, use images in client work, or incorporate them into commercial products without upgrading to a paid plan.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Midjourney.