HumanHand®Mark certification
Qualifying work
- HumanHand standard
- Signed declaration
- Certificate
- Registry record
The standard for work made by humans.
HumanHand® certification identifies a work as GenAI-free, meaning that its key creative elements were not produced with GenAI software.
Script
Audio recording
Visual art
Plain-language certification
HumanHand® authenticates the author. The mark certifies the work.
A HumanHand® registration certifies that a work was created without generative or agentic software (GenAI) producing its key creative elements.
Certification is trust based. It depends on the integrity, honesty and truthfulness of applicants. HumanHand is not a guarantee, nor does it signify or make any statements about ownership, property rights, accuracy of content or copyright status of a work.
No categorical exclusions
Any work produced by a human may qualify, including but not limited to works eligible for copyright, trademark, or other intellectual-property protection. Examples include books, scripts, films, series, songs, music recordings, photographs, performances, educational materials, visual art, architecture, software, and broadcasts.
Allowed support use
AI-assisted research, corrective rather than stylistic or substantive editing, proofreading, grammar, formatting, mastering, and color grading are normally allowed when disclosed.
Disallowed generation
Generative or agentic software for text, images, audio, video, music, or code cannot originate, initiate, actualize, brainstorm, outline, render, generate, or otherwise produce the key creative elements of the work being certified. These systems are referred to as GenAI.
The disclosure standard
What kinds of AI use would make a work ineligible for certification?
“AI” is not one thing.
The AI disclosure in the certification application asks about specific kinds of software used in the production of a work. This is how the standard divides it.
Assistive and technical software: allowed with disclosure
Work made by humans, with technical support.
These functions are allowed if they are structural rather than substantive in nature and support a human who made the work and maintain the original point of view and voice.
- Spell-checkers, grammar, corrective rather than substantive editing (for form rather than for substance), and formatting tools
- Research assistance
- Mastering, color grading, and noise reduction
- Similar technical processing that does not create the work
These kinds of software use disqualify a work
These systems cannot create the key elements.
- Generation of text, images, audio, video, music, or code
- Originating, initiating, or actualizing
- Brainstorming or outlining
- Rendering, generating, or otherwise producing key creative elements
Composite works
No categorical exclusions.
Any work produced by a human may qualify. Examples include books, scripts, films, series, songs, music recordings, photographs, performances, educational materials, visual art, architecture, software, and broadcasts.
In the case of works that have more than one co-creator, each applies separately, names every co-creator, and certifies only their own contribution.
For composite works such as films, series, shows, songs, music recordings, photographs, and performances, each original component may independently qualify and, depending on the product, certain minimum components may be required to qualify.
A finished composite work may be submitted by its first owner or producer—a human or a corporation. Below are examples of the types of work that composite works may contain.
See Terms and Conditions for certain types of work that are not eligible.
Every applicable element qualifies
All required and secondary elements of the work type are made by humans. The work receives full certification and the HumanHand mark.
Required elements qualify; a secondary element does not
Every required element is made by humans, but one or more secondary elements are not. The record carries the unchanged HumanHand mark with an adjacent asterisk and a public notice naming the uncertified secondary elements.
A required element fails
If any required element of the work type is not made by humans, the work cannot be certified under the current standard.
Criteria for common composite works
Some composite works may require certain minimum elements to be certified for the whole work to qualify. These versioned criteria come from the published standard and may evolve; certifications record the exact version under which they were issued.
Journals
Each entry must have been authored by a human. The journal may be certified only when all entries qualify.
Newspapers and magazines
- Each article must be written by a human author (required)
- Each interview must be conducted by a human interviewer (required)
- Embedded illustrations, images, or graphs — (Non-human imagery qualifies for hybrid status only when incidental or illustrative.) (secondary)
Anthologies and compilations
Each piece must qualify on its own for the work as a whole to qualify.
Reference works
- Each entry must have been authored by a human (required)
- Images, graphs, and illustrations — (Non-human imagery qualifies for hybrid status only when incidental or illustrative.) (secondary)
Catalogues and art books
- Each text entry must have been authored by a human (required)
- Each piece must have been created by a human; graphic tools may be used when the original source material was physically created by a human (required)
- The original image must have been captured by a camera operated by a human (required)
Exhibitions and gallery or museum displays and Works in a Series
Each included work must qualify on its own. If all included works qualify, the work may be fully certified; if only some qualify, it may receive hybrid status.
Stage productions
- The script or book must be authored by a human or humans (required)
- The music or musical score must be composed by a human (required)
- Lead-character performances must be by human performers (required)
- Direction must be by a human (required)
Movies, videos, and television
The following four required components must all be created by a human or humans for the work as a whole to qualify.
- The script or screenplay must be written by a human (required)
- Lead performers must be humans (required)
- The director must be human (required)
- Cinematography or videography must be by a human using a camera (required)
- Musical score (secondary)
- Editing (secondary)
- Production design (art direction) (secondary)
- Visual and/or Audio Effects may employ GenAI tools but only if the effects enhance or augment the work rather than serving as the key core elements.
Episodic series
Each episode must qualify on its own according to the movie, video, and television criteria above. If all episodes qualify, the series may be fully certified; if at least three quarters qualify, it may receive hybrid status.
Musical works
- Composition must be authored by a human (required)
- Arrangement must be authored by a human (required)
- Lyrics, if any, must be authored by a human (required)
Sound recordings
- Content (e.g. music and/or lyrics) must be authored by a human (required)
- Performance (required)
- The producer of the recording must be a human (required)
Albums
Each track or song must qualify on its own. If all tracks or songs qualify, the entire album may be fully certified; if at least three quarters qualify, it may receive hybrid status.
Performance
Live, Broadcast or Streamed, and Recorded. Every included actor, singer, musician, and dancer must be human. Every underlying play, speech, choreography, composition, or other source must independently qualify under the HumanHand standard.
From declaration to record
How the standard is applied.
HumanHand®- 01
Identify the work
Record the title, creator, work type, completion details, and public-facing information.
- 02
Disclose the process
Answer category-specific questions about authorship and every relevant support tool.
- 03
Sign the declaration
Confirm the work meets the standard and accept responsibility for the claim.
- 04
Publish and preserve
Issue the mark, registration number, public record, and lasting audit trail.
Accountability
Audit Rights
HumanHand may at any time conduct an audit of any certification or work to determine whether the work complies with HumanHand’s published standards. Any work which, in HumanHand’s sole discretion does not comply with those standards may have its certificate suspended or revoked. The failure or refusal to supply any information or materials requested in connection with an audit may result in the suspension or revocation of a certificate.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUPPLYING FALSE INFORMATION TO HUMANHAND OR UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE HUMANHAND MARK MAY RESULT IN CANCELLATION OF AN ACCOUNT, REVOCATION OF ANY CERTIFICATIONS AS WELL AS CIVIL AND/OR CRIMINAL LEGAL ACTION.
Standard versions and certification history
Composite criteria
composite-2026-07-29-v1
AI disclosure
ai-disclosure-v3
Performance criteria
performance-v1
Historical integrity
The applicable criteria and declaration versions are frozen with each issued record. Publishing a later version does not rewrite its signed declaration or certification history.
Ready when the work is
Make your process visible.
A clear declaration helps audiences understand how your work came to be—and gives them a public record to check.