A master thesis from Aalborg University
Immaterialrettens møde med Kunstig intelligens: En ophavsretslig og designretslig analyse af beskyttelsesbetingelser og rettighedshaver
[Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Law: A Copyright and Design Law Perspective]
Forfatter(e)
Semester
4. semester
Uddannelse
Udgivelsesår
2025
Afleveret
2025-05-12
Abstract
Abstract This thesis explores the legal status of works created using artificial intelligence (AI) under Danish and EU copyright and design law. With AI increasingly integrated into creative and industrial processes, it challenges the fundamental assumption that legal protection requires human authorship. The study uses the doctrinal method, supported by a comparative analysis of copyright and design protection regimes, to examine the conditions under which AI-generated or AI-assisted products may qualify for protection – and who, in that case, is to be considered the rights holder. The thesis begins by outlining the technical characteristics of AI, focusing on the distinction between weak and strong AI and the so-called black box phenomenon. It then presents the normative and legal foundations of copyright and design law, including protection thresholds, subject matter, and the role of human authorship or designership. Building on this foundation, the analysis assesses whether AI-generated output can meet the criteria for protection. Through three ideal types – the Techno-Creator, the Hybrid Creator, and the Classical Artist – it is examined how the degree of human involvement influences the legal outcome. The findings show that copyright law, with its focus on originality and personal intellectual creation, generally excludes fully autonomous AI outputs, while design law, which emphasizes visual distinctiveness over subjective creativity, offers a more flexible framework and may serve as an alternative route to protection. The study also investigates who may be regarded as the rights holder when AI is used in the creative process. It concludes that only a physical person who contributes creative or aesthetic choices during the design or production process may acquire rights. In a final perspective, the thesis reflects on how the current legal framework – while still largely effective – is increasingly strained by the use of AI in creative processes. It identifies risks of legal uncertainty, inconsistent application of protection thresholds, and a potential regulatory gap, where AI-generated works may neither be protected nor sanctioned if infringing. The thesis calls for greater transparency, especially in relation to training data and AI-generated outputs, and highlights the importance of future EU-level harmonisation. Though it refrains from proposing normative reforms, it stresses that courts, lawmakers and practitioners must remain attentive to how technological developments may challenge existing concepts of authorship and originality.
Emneord
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