Commercial use and copyright of AI videos

Table of contents

1. First, distinguish the meaning of "Commercial use OK"
2. Three layers to check
3. Rough comparison of current conditions of major services
4. For Runway
5. For Adobe Firefly
6. For ElevenLabs
7. For Suno
8. "Preview" to be especially careful about in Google/Veo
9. "Can be used commercially" and "can monopolize copyright" are different
10. AI videos of real people have other risks
11. When using characters, logos, and existing works
12. What should I keep when monetizing YouTube?
13. Checklist for selling and advertising AI videos
14. When in doubt, ask yourself if you can explain your rights
15. Read next article
16. Reference materials

Before monetizing an AI video, there are three things to check:Terms of service, copyright of the product, and rights to the input material. Don't finish checking just by saying "Commercial use OK". Rights to other people's faces, characters, and music are not included.

First, distinguish the meaning of “Commercial use OK”

When the terms of use for generated AI say "commercial use allowed," it usually means that the generated AI can be used for advertising, YouTube monetization, sales, games, video works, etc., depending on the contract with the service provider. However, this does not necessarily mean that you own the copyright of the product.

There are also other rights issues if you include someone else's character name in a prompt, upload someone else's photo, or clone a celebrity's voice. Even if a service makes the output available for commercial use, it does not necessarily protect it from claims by third parties.

Three layers to check

1. Terms of Service

Does the AI service allow commercial use of the output it generates under your plan? Many services have different conditions for free and paid plans, and the contract status at the time of generation or download may be important.

2. Copyright/Intellectual Property Rights

Even if the service says that you can use it, the extent to which fully automatically generated parts are copyrighted varies depending on the country and the production process. The situation is not necessarily the same when there is a creative contribution by a human, such as writing the lyrics, creating the structure, or selecting and editing the resulting product, and when it is completely automatically generated from a single prompt.

3. Rights of third parties

This is when someone else has the rights to the input image, sound source, logo, character, portrait, voice, etc. This is a different issue from the AI ​​terms of service. It will not be treated as ``the original rights have disappeared because it was passed through the generation AI''.

A rough comparison of the current conditions of major services

For Runway

Runway explains in its official help that Runway does not impose non-commercial restrictions on user-generated content, and it can be used for monetized YouTube, Shorts, SNS posts, film festivals, product advertisements, etc. Credit notation is also not required.

However, this is a story in which Runway does not prohibit commercial use of the output. Issues such as uploaded images having someone else's copyright, using portraits of real people in advertisements, and using third-party trademarks remain.

In addition, Runway itself explains in its commentary on commercial use that it is necessary to separately check provider terms, copyright laws, display obligations, etc.

For Adobe Firefly

Adobe advises that the output generated by Firefly's non-beta features can be used in commercial projects. Beta features are also allowed for commercial use unless specifically prohibited within the product, but the compensation conditions for businesses are not the same.

Firefly's in-house model is described as a ``commercial-friendly'' design that uses Adobe-licensed content and public domains whose copyrights have expired for learning purposes. This is an option if you want to prioritize "easy to explain the learning source" in a corporate project.

Firefly also offers partner models such as Runway, Veo and Kling. Access through Adobe does not make their individual terms identical to Adobe's own Firefly models. Check which model you selected.

View Adobe Firefly official ↗

For ElevenLabs

ElevenLabs has officially announced that the Paid plan includes the right to commercially use the generated audio. Examples include YouTube, podcasts, ads, audiobooks, movies, games, and apps.

On the other hand, the free plan is advertised as for personal/non-commercial use and requires attribution. If you plan to use it for monetized videos, it is safer to check the plan conditions before creating audio.

Also, the right to commercially use a voice and the "right to create that voice" are different. Uses such as cloning a third party's voice without the person's permission, or creating product recommendations that the person did not say using the person's own voice, create other problems.

See ElevenLabs official ↗

For Suno

Suno is updating its download system and terms in September 2026. The official help explains that songs downloaded with a paid subscription will have commercial usage rights and can be used for distribution, movies, TV, games, independent sales, etc.

Importantly, under the current conditions, it is not only necessary to check whether you have a paid contract, but also whether the output was downloaded using an authorized method. In addition, songs created using the free/Basic plan are generally for personal and non-commercial use, and just signing a contract later does not necessarily give you retroactive commercial rights to all of your past songs.

Furthermore, Remixes are treated separately. Works that are remixes of other people's songs cannot be monetized simply because they are paid users. If you want to use it as BGM for a music video, make sure to check whether you created the original song.

"Preview" to be especially careful about in Google/Veo

For Google Cloud's generative AI, additional conditions may change depending on whether the model is officially available (GA) or Pre-GA/Preview. Google Cloud's current Preview Additional Terms include a clause that is limited to evaluation and testing, but also clearly states exceptions such as specified models including Veo 3.1 Lite. Don't decide whether or not it can be used commercially just by the name Preview, but check the conditions that apply to the model and product you use.

On the other hand, some models with the same model name have been migrated to official endpoints. Even if you think you are using Veo 3.1, you need to check what product screens and API endpoints you are using. It's not like "all terms are the same because it's Veo".

“Can be used commercially” and “can monopolize copyright” are different

Commercial-use permission and copyright protection are separate issues. Suno's official help also states that granting commercial-use rights does not guarantee copyright protection.

Conversely, parts where humans have made creative contributions can be considered separately, such as lyrics written by humans, photographed materials, original storyboards, selection and arrangement of multiple products, and detailed editing. If you want to use AI works for business, it will be easier to explain later if you save the production process rather than saying ``I had the AI ​​create everything.''

AI videos of real people have other risks.

AI collage that uses the faces and voices of celebrities raises issues such as not only terms of service but also portraiture, publicity, honor, and credibility. In particular, using advertisements or sales pages to make it appear that ``this person is recommending a product'' is riskier than simply introducing a parody.

Even if you embed a post from an SNS on your site, rather than the person who created the video, it does not mean that "all rights are cleared because it is an official embed." This site has a policy of not posting anything that is a composite of real people in a sexual, criminal, or extremely defamatory manner.

When using characters, logos, and existing works

If the input image is a picture of a famous game character, a company logo placed in the background, or an existing anime, the AI service will not grant those rights. It's one thing for a product to "look new"; it's another to have no original copyright or trademark issues.

When using on a commercial site, give priority to materials that can be explained at their origin, such as self-made characters, licensed materials, public domain materials, or materials that are allowed to be processed commercially under the terms of use.

What should I keep when monetizing YouTube?

• Service name and model name used
• Generation date and contract plan at that time
• Copyright source of images and audio used for input
• Lyrics, script, and storyboards written by myself
• Editing projects and files in progress
• URL of commercial terms of use and screenshot if necessary

Terms may change in the future. For particularly important projects, it's a good idea to be able to check later on what conditions were in place at the time of production.

Checklist for selling and advertising AI videos

• Is it possible to use it commercially with my contract plan?
• Are there any additional restrictions such as Preview/Beta/Experimental?
• Do you have the right to use the images and sounds you input?
• Are the portraits and voices of real people being used without permission?
• Are existing characters and logos the center of product value?
• Have you checked the music/lyrics license separately?
• Are the products being misidentified as "self-photographed" or "live action"?
• Have you checked the AI policy of the advertising media/sales platform you use?

When in doubt, ask yourself, “Can I explain my rights?”

Ultimately, the easy-to-understand criteria is whether or not you can explain each of the materials in your work by saying, ``I created this myself,'' ``This can be used with this license,'' and ``This AI can be used commercially with this plan.''

AI speeds up production, but it doesn't automate rights verification. In fact, the more you combine multiple services, the more places you need to check. Before publishing and monetizing, check the materials used and the terms of the service.

Read next article

Reference materials

• Agency for Cultural Affairs: About AI and copyright
• ElevenLabs: Plans and commercial use
• Runway Usage rights
• Adobe Firefly FAQ
• Adobe Generated Credits FAQ
• ElevenLabs Text to Speech
• Suno Paid subscription rights
• Suno Terms of Service
• Google Cloud Generative AI Preview Additional Terms (Current Version)

This article is a summary of general information and is not legal advice for individual cases. For important commercial matters, prioritize the latest respective terms of service and, if necessary, expert review.