Agencies increasingly use AI image tools to create covers, illustrations and social graphics when they rebrand white-label products for clients. Before those images go into a client deliverable, it helps to know what each tool’s own terms say about ownership, commercial use and similarity. Here is a summary of three widely used providers’ published terms as of October 2026. Terms change, so check the linked pages before each project.
What the Providers Say
Adobe Firefly
Adobe’s Firefly FAQ says outputs from features without a beta label can be used in commercial projects, and that beta-feature outputs can also be used commercially unless the product states otherwise. Adobe says its current Firefly models were trained on licensed content, such as Adobe Stock, and public domain content, and that it automatically applies Content Credentials to certain exports that use Firefly outputs.
Canva
Canva’s guidance on using its AI tools safely states that, as between the user and Canva, the user owns AI-created works and may use them for personal and commercial purposes, subject to its AI Product Terms. Canva also cautions that anyone can get similar results with similar prompts, advises against referencing known brands, characters or people in prompts without permission, and notes that many jurisdictions, including the US, do not give copyright protection to AI-created works.
OpenAI
OpenAI’s Terms of Use (effective January 1, 2026) say users own the output and that OpenAI assigns to users any rights it has in it. The same terms note that output may not be unique, that other users may receive similar output, and that users may not represent output as human-generated when it was not.
What Ownership Does Not Cover
A provider assigning its rights to you is different from the image being protected by copyright. The US Copyright Office’s registration guidance says copyright protects material produced by human creativity, that prompts alone generally do not make the user the author of the generated material, and that applicants must disclose more-than-minimal AI-generated content when registering a work. Human selection, arrangement or substantial modification can still be protected. For clients, this means an AI-generated cover may be freely usable but hard to stop others from copying.
A Checklist for Client Projects
- Ask the client first. Some clients have policies on AI imagery, or want to register the finished work.
- Record the tool, plan and date used for each image, along with the terms page that applied at the time.
- Avoid brand names, characters and real people in prompts unless the client holds the rights or permission.
- Review outputs for logos, text or look-alikes of existing designs before using them.
- Keep human contributions visible. Layout, typography and editing work by the designer is the part most likely to be protectable.
- Explain the limits in the handoff, so the client does not assume exclusivity in an image that others could closely reproduce.
This is general information, not legal advice. Questions about ownership or registration of a particular work should go to a qualified attorney.
More White-Label Guides
- AI-Assisted White-Label Products: What the US Copyright Office Says About Ownership
- Stock Photos and Canva Elements in Client Deliverables: License Points to Check
- Who Owns a White-Label Deliverable? Copyright Basics for Agencies and Clients