A creative work can contain many layers: writing, images, performances, code, samples, fonts, stock material, and AI-assisted elements. Before proposing a release, build a clear record of those layers. This is a preparation guide, not a legal determination about ownership or protection. Specific questions may require qualified advice for the markets and uses you have in mind.
Make a simple source inventory
Create one document that identifies each meaningful input, where it came from, who created it, and the permission or agreement you are relying on. Include assets that are easy to overlook: a cover font, a background loop, a photograph inside a scene, a game-engine marketplace pack, or a voice performance. Record links and dates while the source is easy to find.
Keep evidence with the inventory: receipts, license text, contributor agreements, and relevant correspondence. A download button or an asset being publicly visible does not explain what uses its provider permits. Flag anything you cannot confidently document instead of treating it as cleared.
Record how AI tools were used
Describe the role of each tool in plain language. Did it help with brainstorming, editing, composition, illustration, animation, code, or a finished performance? Note the product, account or plan used, and the terms you reviewed at the time. Terms can differ across tools and plans, and distribution channels may have their own disclosure requirements.
Keep a working history of your contribution: drafts, edits, arrangements, selections, direction, source files, and revision notes. Explain what you changed and why. This record helps reviewers understand the creative process; it does not itself establish that every element has a particular legal status.
- List tools and the parts of the work they helped create.
- Review relevant commercial-use terms and any restrictions.
- Identify material uploaded as input and the permission to use it.
- Keep meaningful drafts and records of your creative decisions.
Check people, collaborators, and existing commitments
Confirm that collaborators understand the proposed release and that their contribution is covered by the relevant arrangements. Be especially careful with identifiable people, voices, likenesses, private material, and recognizable third-party characters or brands. Do not assume that a tool making something possible resolves permission to distribute it.
Review any existing publisher, distributor, label, platform, or client commitment. Look for restrictions that could affect the proposed channels, territories, timing, or format. If you are uncertain about a clause, describe the uncertainty rather than promising rights you may not control.
Use honest, useful disclosures
A good disclosure is specific enough to inform review without turning the proposal into a technical diary. For example, explain that AI assisted with early visual exploration while final artwork was independently developed, if that accurately describes the process. Avoid broad claims such as entirely handmade when they do not match the work.
Launch Your Creation reviews human-made and responsibly AI-assisted projects. Review does not certify permissions or guarantee channel acceptance. Keep the inventory available for follow-up, resolve important gaps before release, and make sure the final publishing agreement accurately reflects the rights and responsibilities involved.
Further reading
For U.S. guidance, see the U.S. Copyright Office’s AI resources. Rules vary by jurisdiction.
Make the next step a clear one.
Clarity is part of creative professionalism. Share the work, disclose the process, and bring a practical record of the material behind it.
Submit your work