P图 legal
AI & Copyright
A plain-language guide to copyright, customer rights, and infringement risk for media created or edited with P图.
On this page
AI output is not automatically copyright-free, and it is not automatically protected by copyright. In Singapore, the answer depends on the kind of work, the human contribution, the facts of its creation, and any third-party rights involved.
This guide explains how P图 handles rights between P图 and its customers. It is general information, not legal advice for a particular campaign, publication, registration, or dispute.
Key points
- Authorial works such as artistic and literary works generally need a human author and originality.
- Meaningful human creative or editorial choices may support protection; a simple prompt with little control may not.
- P图 gives you any output rights it can grant, but cannot create copyright that the law does not recognise.
- An unprotected AI output can still infringe someone else's earlier work, trade mark, privacy, or publicity rights.
The short answer
For an artistic, literary, dramatic, or musical work, Singapore follows a human-centric approach. Copyright protection generally requires a human author and sufficient intellectual effort, creativity, skill, or judgment. If an AI system determines the main expressive elements and the user contributes little creative control, the resulting authorial work may not qualify for copyright.
The assessment is fact-specific. A person who plans, selects, arranges, repeatedly directs, and meaningfully edits a result may contribute protectable human expression even when AI is one of the tools used.
Different types of work
Singapore law distinguishes authorial works from subject matter such as films and sound recordings. IPOS explains that the human-authorship and originality requirements described above do not apply in the same way to every non-authorial work. Video, audio, image, text, and a combined project may therefore raise different questions and may contain several layers of rights.
What P图 gives you
As between you and P图, you retain your rights in Customer Content. Once any applicable credits are deducted or payment is completed, P图 assigns any transferable intellectual-property rights it owns in Output created specifically for your job. If a right cannot be assigned, P图 gives you a broad licence to use and commercialise that Output. The same allocation applies immediately when P图 expressly provides an Output free of charge.
This contractual allocation cannot make an otherwise unprotected output copyrightable and cannot transfer rights belonging to another person. It also does not remove restrictions attached to a logo, photograph, character, artwork, typeface, brand, person's likeness, or other material you supplied.
Results may not be unique
Generative systems can give the same or similar output to different users. P图 does not promise exclusivity, uniqueness, originality, registrability, or that another person cannot lawfully use a similar unprotected result. Use a trade mark, registered design, contract, confidential process, or substantial human design work where commercial exclusivity matters, after obtaining suitable professional advice.
Copyright and other infringement risk
An AI-generated result does not need to have its own copyright to infringe an earlier protected work. Risk increases when a prompt requests a named work, character, logo, distinctive composition, or close copy, or when protected reference material is supplied without permission. Publishing or selling the result can create additional risk.
Use generic creative direction instead of requesting a copy of a living artist's or brand's protected work. Review outputs before use and obtain clearance for important commercial campaigns. Fair use and other exceptions depend on the facts and should not be assumed merely because AI was involved.
Watermarks, brands, and people
Removing a watermark does not remove the underlying copyright or licence conditions. Use P图's watermark-removal feature only for work you own or are expressly authorised to alter. Keep evidence of that permission.
Copyright is separate from privacy, publicity, passing off, trade mark, defamation, and other rights. Permission may be needed to use a person's face, a private photograph, a brand, a product design, or confidential material even if copyright is not the issue.
Document your human contribution
These records can help explain independent creation, human contribution, and the scope of permissions if a customer, marketplace, registry, or rights owner raises a question.
- Keep the original source files and the first AI output.
- Save prompts, selected options, reference material, and dated versions.
- Record the choices you made about composition, selection, arrangement, colour, retouching, and final edits.
- Keep layered working files and notes showing changes between the AI output and the final work.
- Keep licences and written permissions for customer-supplied or third-party material.
Before important commercial use
For a logo, major advertisement, merchandise line, commissioned artwork, film, music release, or other high-value use, consider a rights search and advice from a qualified intellectual-property professional. Platform terms, model licences, employment arrangements, and customer contracts can affect ownership in addition to copyright law.
Relationship with the Terms
The Terms of Use are the binding agreement between you and P图. This guide helps explain the Output section but does not expand a warranty or replace the Terms. If you need advice about whether a particular result is protected or safe to use, consult a Singapore intellectual-property lawyer.
Official sources
These sources informed this guide. They may be updated after this document's effective date.
Need help with this document?
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