📋 What Leonardo AI's Terms Actually Say
Plan Comparison: Output Rights by Tier
| Feature | Free | Apprentice ($12/mo) | Artisan ($30/mo) | Maestro ($60/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IP Ownership | ✗ Leonardo owns | ✓ You own | ✓ You own | ✓ You own |
| Commercial Use | License only | ✓ Full rights | ✓ Full rights | ✓ Full rights |
| Content Visibility | Public only | Private available | Private available | Private available |
| Training on Content | Yes (all content) | ✓ Not private content | ✓ Not private content | ✓ Not private content |
| Daily Tokens | 150 | 8,500/mo | 25,000/mo | 60,000/mo |
| Custom Models | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🧠 Training & Data Policy
Leonardo AI does not train on private content from paid subscribers without express written consent. Free tier content is used for model training and platform improvement. Public content (even from paid users) grants Leonardo a perpetual license.
Leonardo AI's terms prohibit:
- Content that infringes third-party IP rights
- NSFW/explicit content (moderated)
- Content that violates applicable laws
- Misrepresentation of AI-generated content as human-created
🏛️ Copyright & Legal Status
While Leonardo AI's terms grant you ownership and commercial rights, the broader question of copyright protection for AI-generated content remains legally unsettled.
Under current U.S. Copyright Office guidance and the 2025 D.C. Circuit ruling in Thaler v. Perlmutter, purely AI-generated content cannot be copyrighted because it lacks the human authorship required by copyright law. This means:
- You can use outputs commercially — the platform grants you this right contractually
- You may not be able to stop copying — without copyright, others can freely reproduce AI-generated content
- Human contribution matters — if you substantially edit, direct, or transform AI outputs, your human creative contributions may qualify for copyright protection
- International variation — some jurisdictions (e.g., China) have begun recognizing copyright in sufficiently human-directed AI outputs
For maximum legal protection: (1) Use Leonardo AI outputs as a starting point and add substantial human editing, (2) Keep records of your creative direction and editing process, (3) Consider the API or paid tiers for stronger data protection, (4) Consult an attorney for high-value commercial applications.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
No. On the free plan, Leonardo AI retains intellectual property ownership of your generated images. You receive a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use them, but Leonardo holds the actual IP rights. Upgrade to Apprentice ($12/mo) or higher for full ownership.
Yes, on any paid plan. Leonardo explicitly permits commercial use for Apprentice ($12/mo) and above, with no revenue thresholds. You can use outputs for client work, merchandise, marketing, stock sales, and any lawful commercial purpose.
It depends on your plan and visibility settings. Free tier content is used for training. Paid users' private content is NOT used for training without consent. However, if you make content public (even on paid plans), you grant Leonardo a perpetual license to use, reproduce, and create derivative works.
Leonardo AI has clearer IP terms: paid users unambiguously own their outputs with no revenue threshold. Midjourney's licensing is more complex -- paid users get a commercial license but the IP ownership language is less explicit. Leonardo also offers an API (Midjourney doesn't), making it better for commercial integrations.
Under current U.S. law, purely AI-generated images likely cannot be copyrighted because they lack human authorship. However, if you use Leonardo's tools (img2img, inpainting, custom models with your training data) and add substantial human creative input, your contributions may qualify for protection.
By marking content public, you grant Leonardo AI a worldwide, perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, copy, display, reproduce, and distribute the content. Other users also get a non-exclusive license to access public content. This applies even if you're on a paid plan.
For business use, Leonardo AI has advantages: clearer IP ownership terms, no revenue threshold, API access for product integration, custom model training capabilities, and a more intuitive web interface vs Midjourney's Discord-based workflow. Midjourney may produce slightly higher artistic quality for some use cases.
Yes, on paid plans. You can train custom AI models using your own images, which is useful for maintaining consistent brand identity or character designs. This is a significant advantage for commercial users who need consistent outputs across projects.