I'm a freelance designer. I used Midjourney to generate initial concepts for a client's logo, then heavily modified the output in Illustrator — changed colors, simplified shapes, added custom typography. The final logo is maybe 30% AI-generated and 70% my modifications.
Client wants to trademark it. Can they? And who owns the copyright — me, the client, or Midjourney?
That's a good idea. The AI-generated portion is really just the overall layout concept at this point. I could redraw it from scratch and cite the Midjourney output as "reference material" rather than a derivative work. Would that be cleaner?
Not gonna lie, don't forget Midjourney's own ToS. Under their terms, paid subscribers own the outputs they generate. But that "ownership" is limited by copyright law — you can't own what can't be copyrighted. It's a license to use, not a copyright assignment ngl.
Created a logo using Midjourney as a starting point, then extensively modified it in Illustrator — redrew the shapes as vectors, changed colors, adjusted proportions, added custom typography. The final logo looks nothing like the raw Midjourney output. Is this logo copyrightable? And can I register it as a trademark?
Two separate questions with different answers. Copyright: Based on your description of extensive modification, the final logo likely qualifies for copyright as an AI-assisted work with sufficient human authorship. Your creative choices in redrawing, recoloring, and designing typography are protectable expression. Trademark: This is actually the better path. Trademark registration requires distinctiveness and use in commerce — it doesn't require copyright. You can register an AI-assisted logo as a trademark if it functions as a source identifier for your goods/services. The USPTO hasn't prohibited AI-assisted designs from trademark registration. I'd recommend pursuing trademark registration (which protects the logo as a brand identifier) as your primary IP strategy, with copyright as a secondary protection.
Three things I wish I knew before my dispute: (1) Save copies of all communications in multiple places, (2) Send important correspondence via certified mail with return receipt, (3) Keep a detailed timeline of events. These three things won my case.