What changed in AI model terms

September 2026

1. 30 Sept 2026 Terms changed ByteDance (BytePlus)

   BytePlus adds penalties for unauthorised Seedance resale

   Commercial use: answer unchanged, new detail

   BytePlus moved its video generation terms into its Service Specific Terms (updated 30 September 2026). Platforms that resell Seedance are now liable for their end users' conduct, and unauthorised resale carries liquidated damages of 20% of the minimum commitment. A new clause (3.3(e)) also has customers indemnify BytePlus against claims over their use of outputs, alongside BytePlus's own output indemnity. The answers on the record are unchanged.

   “For unauthorized resale, we may immediately ban the relevant accounts, and you will pay liquidated damages equal to 20% of the minimum commitment amount in your Order Form (if any) or Service Agreement”

   Source: docs.byteplus.com · in effect from 30 Sept 2026

   Affects 259 routes: Bagel - fal, Bernini-R Edit Video - fal, Bernini-R Reference Edit Video - fal, Bytedance Dreamactor V2 - fal, ByteDance First-Last-Frame to Video - Comfy Cloud, ByteDance Image - Comfy Cloud and 253 more.

2. 28 Sept 2026 Terms changed xAI

   xAI now indemnifies generated output

   Copyright indemnity: No → Yes

   xAI's Enterprise terms (now issued by SpaceXAI LLC, last updated 14 August 2026) defend customers against IP claims over their authorised use of the services, including generated output. Only output 'intentionally or recklessly prompted' to infringe is excluded, and the indemnity is not subject to the liability cap. The earlier version on our record excluded output entirely.

   “SpaceXAI will defend Customer and its Affiliates from and against any third-party claim ... alleging that Customer’s authorized use of the Services infringes a third party’s intellectual-property rights”

   Source: x.ai · in effect from 14 Aug 2026

   Affects 71 routes: Grok Image - Comfy Cloud, Grok Image - Higgsfield, Grok Image 2.0 - Comfy Cloud, Grok Image 2.0 - Higgsfield, Grok Image 2.0 - Magnific, Grok Image 2.0 - Runway and 65 more.

3. 28 Sept 2026 Terms changed Meshy

   Meshy: paid plans now own their output

   Output ownership: Varies → User on paid plans

   Meshy's terms of 19 September 2026 state that customers on paid plans own their output. Free-plan output stays Meshy's and is licensed back under CC BY 4.0, which allows commercial use with credit to Meshy.

   “As between Meshy and those Customers on a paid Meshy plan, and to the extent possible under applicable law, such customers on a paid Meshy plan own their Customer Output.”

   Source: meshy.ai · in effect from 19 Sept 2026

   Affects 66 routes: Meshy 5 Remesh - Higgsfield, Meshy 5 Retexture - Higgsfield, Meshy 6 - Magnific, Meshy 6 Text-to-3D - Higgsfield, Meshy 7 Image-to-3D - Higgsfield, Meshy Image to 3D - Higgsfield and 60 more.

4. 28 Sept 2026 Terms changed Suno

   Suno ties commercial use to permitted downloads

   Commercial use, Output ownership: Yes on paid plans → Yes on Pro and Premier, per permitted download

   From 3 September 2026, Suno's ownership transfer covers Pro and Premier subscribers only, and commercial use requires a permitted download within your tier's allowance. Free and Basic output is for personal, non-commercial use.

   “You may commercially exploit Output solely to the extent it adheres to Suno's Conditions of Access and Use as outlined above provided you have obtained a permitted download of that Output in accordance with the download allocations for your applicable service tier”

   Source: suno.com · in effect from 3 Sept 2026

   Affects 2 routes: Suno v4 - Free, Suno v4 - Pro.

5. 28 Sept 2026 Our record corrected Adobe

   Adobe: Firefly output indemnity applies on two plans

   Copyright indemnity: No → Limited on Pro Plus and Edition 4 plans

   Adobe's Generative AI Product Specific Terms (effective 23 April 2026) give Creative Cloud for teams and enterprise customers on Pro Plus or Edition 4 plans an IP indemnity for exported Firefly output, capped at US$10,000 per output or claim. Our record had treated that indemnity as an enterprise-agreement term only.

   “our total maximum aggregate liability with respect to Indemnified Firefly Outputs will in no event exceed US$10,000 per (a) any Indemnified Firefly Output or (b) Infringement Claim”

   Source: adobe.com · in effect from 23 Apr 2026

   Affects 13 routes: Express Animate - Adobe, Firefly Generative Expand - Adobe, Firefly Generative Fill - Adobe, Firefly Generative Remove - Adobe, Firefly Image - Adobe, Firefly Video - Adobe and 7 more.

6. 28 Sept 2026 Our record corrected Adobe

   Adobe: third-party models follow their vendor's terms

   Commercial use, Marking applied by the model: Adobe's Firefly answers → The model vendor's terms

   Section 7 of Adobe's Generative AI terms puts models labelled as developed by a third party under that third party's terms. Commercial use and marking for those models now come from the model's vendor, not from Adobe's Firefly FAQ.

   “your use of the Non-Adobe Model to generate Content is governed by Section 3.12 of the General Terms (Third-Party Services and Software)”

   Source: adobe.com · in effect from 23 Apr 2026

7. 28 Sept 2026 Our record corrected ElevenLabs

   ElevenLabs: free-tier output is non-commercial

   Commercial use, Marking applied by the model: Yes → No on Free; Yes on paid plans

   ElevenLabs' terms (31 March 2026, same wording in the EEA version) limit free users to non-commercial use; paid plans may use it commercially. Our record showed a flat Yes. Its watermark covers audio ElevenLabs generates itself; third-party models on the platform are typically not watermarked.

   “if you access or use our Services free of charge (such a user, a “Free User”), you may only use the Services for non-commercial purposes”

   Source: elevenlabs.io · in effect from 31 Mar 2026

   Affects 151 routes: Act-Two - ElevenLabs, Aleph 2.0 - ElevenLabs, Eleven Dubbing v2 - ElevenLabs, Eleven English STS v2 - ElevenLabs, Eleven Flash v2 - ElevenLabs, Eleven Flash v2.5 - ElevenLabs and 145 more.

8. 28 Sept 2026 Our record corrected Topaz Labs

   Topaz: commercial use depends on the licence

   Commercial use: Yes → Depends on the licence

   Topaz's EULA (February 2026) allows commercial use under a Professional licence. A Personal licence excludes commercial use by employees of organisations above US$1M revenue, and web-app rights depend on the plan. The API may not be integrated into third-party services without Topaz's written consent, so Topaz models offered through other platforms are marked unverified.

   “A "Professional License" means that You can use the Services for any lawful purpose, including Commercial Use”

   Source: downloads.topazlabs.com

   Affects 39 routes: Image Upscale - Replicate, Topaz Background Removal - ElevenLabs, Topaz Image - Higgsfield, Topaz Image Enhance - Comfy Cloud, Topaz Image Enhance (Legacy) - Comfy Cloud, Topaz Image Generative - Higgsfield and 33 more.

A record of what the documents say, not legal advice. Read the source before relying on it. Archibal freezes the terms that applied into every delivery record, so a later change never rewrites what was true when you shipped.