Rights & evidence / Evidence guide
AI commercial-use rights: what they actually mean
Permission to use an AI output commercially is useful, but it is not the same as owning every possible right in that output. This guide separates the service permission from copyright, trademarks, likeness and voice rights so creators can make better decisions.
Key takeaway
Donatello permits lawful commercial use of outputs from its current production routes. You still need the rights to every protected input and remain responsible for reviewing the result and its intended use.01 / Rights & evidence
Commercial use has four separate layers
A generator can grant permission under its service terms without deciding whether copyright law protects the resulting work. It also cannot grant rights that belong to somebody else. Treat commercial use as a four-part check rather than a single badge.
| Layer | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Service permission | Do the product terms allow monetized and client use? |
| Input rights | Did you own or license the images, music, text, marks, likenesses and voices supplied? |
| Output review | Does the result reproduce or closely imitate protected third-party material? |
| Legal protection | Is the human contribution sufficient for protection in the relevant jurisdiction? |
02 / Rights & evidence
What Donatello currently permits
Subject to the Terms, Donatello permits users to use and monetize outputs from the current Image, Motion, Music and Voice production routes. Examples include client work, advertising, websites, products and monetized content.
The permission covers the generated output under Donatello's service relationship. It does not transfer a third party's copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, likeness or voice rights, and it does not promise that an output is unique or legally protectable.
- Use only inputs you created, licensed or otherwise have permission to process.
- Review recognizable people, characters, logos, melodies and voices before publication.
- Keep a record of the prompt, inputs, edits and final selection for important commercial work.
- Do not use an output to train another AI model unless a separate right expressly permits it.
03 / Rights & evidence
Permission is not a copyright guarantee
Copyright eligibility varies by jurisdiction and by the human contribution to a particular result. The U.S. Copyright Office evaluates human-authored expression, including expressive inputs, modifications and arrangements, rather than treating a prompt or an AI output as automatically protected.
For valuable work, document the creative decisions made before and after generation: original source material, selection, compositing, editing, arrangement, color work, writing or performance. This evidence can be more useful than relying on the fact that a tool was used.
04 / Rights & evidence
A publish-ready commercial checklist
Before monetizing an output, run the same short review regardless of whether it is an image, video, song or voiceover.
- Confirm the generator route is still listed as commercially usable in Product Facts.
- Confirm every uploaded or quoted input has a documented source and permission.
- Inspect the output for recognizable third-party material and misleading impersonation.
- Make meaningful human selections and edits where originality and protection matter.
- Download the finished file before Donatello's 72-hour storage period ends.
Verification
Sources and current facts
Product conditions can change. Donatello's dated Product Facts and binding Terms take precedence over this explanatory article if a material detail is updated.