Can I Use Midjourney Images on T-Shirts and Sell Them? Commercial Rights Question

I've been creating some amazing designs with Midjourney and I want to start selling them on t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases through print-on-demand services like Printful.

My questions:

• Can I legally sell products with Midjourney images?
• Do I need a specific subscription tier?
• What about copyright - who owns AI-generated images?
• Am I at risk if someone claims the AI copied their artwork?

I'm planning to launch a whole product line and want to make sure I'm doing this right before investing in inventory and marketing.

Great questions - this is a rapidly evolving area of law. Let me break it down:

The Subscription Question:

• Free tier: Images are public and you grant Midjourney rights
• Basic/Standard/Pro: You own the images and can use commercially
• Corporate users (>$1M revenue): Need Pro or Mega plan

The Copyright Question (This is Complex):

• The US Copyright Office has ruled AI-generated images without significant human creativity are NOT copyrightable
• This means while you can USE them commercially, you may not be able to stop others from using the same images
• Your prompts and selection process may add some human creativity, but this is untested in courts

I run a successful POD business using AI-generated art. Here's my practical advice:

Best Practices for Commercial AI Art:

1. Use paid subscription - Non-negotiable for commercial use
2. Avoid prompts with artist names - Don't use "in the style of [living artist]"
3. Avoid brand names and characters - No "Mickey Mouse" or "Nike swoosh" prompts
4. Document your creative process - Save your prompts and iterations
5. Do reverse image searches - Check if your output looks too similar to existing work
6. Add human creativity - Edit, combine, and modify the outputs

Print-on-demand platforms like Printful, Printify, and Redbubble generally allow AI art, but check their specific policies. Some marketplaces like Etsy have started requiring AI disclosure.