Ett ansikte i andras händer - En analys av immaterialrättens rättsliga effektivitet i skyddet mot AI-genererade verk

Sammanfattning

Rapid developments in artificial intelligence have enabled the creation of realistic digital imitations of a person’s appearance or voice, known as deep- fakes. These imitations raise significant concerns for personal integrity, particularly for private individuals who lack effective means to prevent the dissemination of manipulated material. This thesis examines whether Swedish intellectual property law provides legally effective protection against such uses and compares the Swedish framework with the Danish proposal introducing a civil law right to one’s image and voice. Using a legal dogmatic method with a critical and comparative dimension, the thesis analyses the protective mechanisms available in Swedish law. The study shows that copyright does not safeguard identity and that AI generated material generally falls outside its scope. The Act on Names and Pictures in Advertising applies only to commercial contexts, while data protection rules depend on technical identifiability and therefore exclude many deepfakes. Swedish law thus offers fragmented and conditional protection that does not correspond to the forms of harm deepfakes can cause. The Danish proposal establishes a direct right for individuals to control realistic digital imitations of their physical characteristics and is closely linked to the EU Digital Services Act, enabling removal of such content from online platforms. Although subject to exceptions for satire and other protected expressions, the model introduces a coherent and technology oriented form of identity protection. The thesis concludes that the Swedish system does not meet the requirement of legal effectiveness defined in the study. In contrast, the Danish approach appears better suited to address the challenges posed by deepfakes. A future development of Swedish law is therefore warranted, provided it is designed with careful regard to constitutional considerations and the balance between identity protection and freedom of expression.