Who owns the copyright of a product photo generated by an AI tool?

Quick Answer

Under current US law, no one owns copyright in expressive material generated entirely by AI because that material is not copyrightable. A person or company may still own copyright in a source photo and in sufficiently creative human-authored selection, arrangement, or editing that appears in the finished product photo. An AI tool's terms can grant commercial usage or contractual ownership rights, but they cannot create copyright in material that federal law leaves unprotected or clear third-party rights.

How does US copyright apply to the different parts of an AI product photo?

Copyright ownership depends on which expressive elements a human created and on any employment, licensing, or assignment agreement. The US Copyright Office's January 2025 report says prompts alone do not provide enough control over expressive elements under current generally available technology, while human-authored material visible in an output, creative arrangements, and creative modifications may qualify case by case.

Part or right	US copyright position	Possible rights holder
Source product photo	A copyrightable human-made source photo keeps its separate protection. Using it as an AI input does not by itself transfer that copyright.	The photographer, an employer when the work-made-for-hire rules apply, or a later assignee under 17 USC § 201.
Purely AI-generated expression	No copyright attaches when the machine, rather than a human, determines the expressive elements.	No copyright owner for those elements.
Human-authored elements in the output	Sufficiently creative human selection, coordination, arrangement, or modification may be protected. Under 17 USC § 103, protection for a derivative work covers only new authorship, not preexisting material.	The human author, employer, or assignee, depending on the facts and agreements.
Permission to use the output	A tool's terms may permit commercial use or allocate contractual rights even when some material is not copyrightable.	Whoever the contract identifies, subject to applicable law and third-party rights.

The D.C. Circuit held in Thaler v. Perlmutter that the Copyright Act requires a human author and that an AI system cannot be the recognized author of a copyrighted work. The Supreme Court denied review on March 2, 2026, leaving that judgment in place without issuing its own decision on the merits.

Does an AI tool's ownership clause mean I own copyright?

An AI tool's ownership clause does not establish that federal copyright exists. It can allocate rights between the tool and the user, grant permission for commercial use, and limit what the provider may do with the output.

Nightjar's current terms define generated images and related content as Output. They say that, as between Nightjar and the user and to the extent permitted by law, a compliant user receives full ownership rights to their Output and may use it for lawful commercial purposes. That contractual grant does not promise that every output is copyrightable or exclusive, and it does not license material owned by someone else.

What should a brand check before publishing an AI product photo?

Confirm who owns or licenses every source photo. Paying a photographer or possessing the image file does not necessarily transfer copyright.
Keep records of the human creative work in the finished image, such as original source photography, compositing, retouching, selection, and arrangement. If you apply to register a mixed human-and-AI work, the Copyright Office requires disclosure of more than minimal AI-generated material.
Review visible third-party material separately. Copyrighted artwork, logos, distinctive branding, and a real person's likeness can raise copyright, trademark, trade-dress, privacy, or publicity issues even when the AI tool permits commercial use.
Get advice from a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction for a valuable campaign, registration, license, or dispute. This article gives general US information, not legal advice; other countries use different copyright rules.