Artificial intelligence law

Artificial intelligence is changing how creative work is made, distributed and protected. Makers use AI to write, compose and design. At the same time, AI models are trained on existing work, sometimes without the makers knowing. And with deepfakes, someone’s face or voice can be imitated in a way that has a serious impact on the person concerned.

Liaise advises makers, producers, publishers and creative entrepreneurs on the legal side of AI. We know the sector and know where the questions lie the moment AI becomes part of how you work, or of what others do with your work.

Do you need legal advice straight away? Call 020 675 88 21.

What AI law is about

AI law is about the legal questions that arise when developing and using artificial intelligence. Who may train an AI system on existing work? Who ends up with the rights to the result? Who is liable when an AI system gets something wrong? And what is allowed with someone’s face or voice? These questions touch on copyright, image rights and privacy law, and they are increasingly shaped by the European AI Act as well.

What we help you with

Using AI in your own work
More and more makers use AI when making music, images, text or design. The legal question is then who holds the rights to the result. Work generated entirely by an AI system, without creative input from a human, is in principle not eligible for copyright protection under Dutch law. If you use AI as a tool and make the creative choices yourself, copyright can indeed arise with you. We advise you on where that line lies and how to record your position. See also copyright.

Your work being used by AI
AI models are trained on large amounts of existing work, and that does not always happen with permission. As a maker, you can in certain cases object to that use by making a reservation. If AI output produces something that closely resembles your work, there may be infringement. We deal with this in more detail on our page about AI and copyright.

Deepfakes and imitated voices
With AI it is possible to convincingly imitate someone’s face or voice. For the person being imitated this can have serious consequences, for a well-known artist but also for a private individual. Image rights, privacy law and unlawful publication can each play a role, depending on how the deepfake is used. We help you stop the distribution and, where necessary, take legal action. See also image rights and unlawful publication.

AI and personal data
If an AI system processes personal data, the GDPR rules apply. That comes into play when a model is trained on people’s data, or when a system decides about people automatically, in a credit assessment or a job application procedure. We advise on the privacy side of AI and work together with our privacy practice on this. See data protection.

Liability and contracts
If something goes wrong with an AI system, the question is who bears the cost. We help you assign that responsibility contractually in advance, to the supplier, the client or the customer. See also IT law.

The AI Act
The European AI Act sets requirements for developing and using AI. The riskier an application, the heavier the obligations. We help you determine whether the Act applies to you and what that means.

The AI Act in brief

The European AI Act came into force on 1 August 2024. The obligations do not all apply at once. From 2 February 2025, the most high-risk AI applications are prohibited. On that same date it also became mandatory to give staff sufficient knowledge of AI. Providers of large AI models fall under the Act from 2 August 2025. The stricter requirements for high-risk AI systems follow on 2 August 2026. For certain large-scale systems, that deadline runs until 2 August 2027.

Creative applications rarely fall into the heaviest risk categories. Even so, there are obligations then too. It must be clear when people are communicating with an AI system, and when image, sound or text was created by AI. Providers of large AI models must also be open about the material they train on, which will make enforcing copyright more accessible over time.

Who the Act applies to and what that requires in practice depends on your role and the type of AI you use or offer. We map that out for you.

AI law and creative practice

AI questions rarely stand alone. They touch on copyright when it comes to the rights in what AI makes or uses, image rights when it comes to deepfakes, privacy law when personal data is involved, and contract law when liability has to be allocated. Liaise works in those areas every day, for clients in the creative and media industries. You get advice that fits how the sector works and what is actually being asked of you.

Do you have a question about AI and your work, or are you faced with a deepfake or unauthorised use of what you have made? Get in touch and you will have a reply within one working day.