Copyright

The work must be original

Copyright protection requires that the work has a certain level of originality, meaning that the work is the creator’s own intellectual creation. In Sweden, it is not possible to apply for copyright protection, as the right arises automatically when a work is created. In Sweden, copyright applies for a period of 70 years after the death of the creator.

Economic rights

The economic rights to the work always accure to the person who created the work, but they can be transferred to someone else through a contract. The holder of economic rights to a work is the one who decides if and how the work may be used and disseminated. For example, the holder decides whether a song may be used in a commercial, whether a short story can be published in a collection of short stories, or whether a photo may be used for a poster.

Moral rights

The moral rights mean that the creator has the right to be named if you use a work. For example, anyone who quotes from a book must indicate who the author is. The work must also be respected, you may not alter it or violate the creator.

Although the protection of a work subject to copyright arises without a formal procedure, meaning without requiring registration, it can be difficult to claim this protection. Copyright law contains many exceptions and limitations. In working life, the right to copyrighted works is regulated by additional legislation and a number of agreements.It is advisable to seek advice from your trade association before doing business that may be affected by copyright.

Managing copyright agreements

Even if the protection of a work covered by copyright arises informally, that is, without the requirement for registration, it can be complicated to assert the protection. The Copyright Act contains many exceptions and limitations. In working life, the right to copyrighted works is often regulated in agreements between the employee and the employer. It may therefore be wise to seek advice, for example from your trade association, before doing business that may be affected by copyright.

In most artistic activities, collective contract management and collective rights administration are often used. This means that you as an artist are a member of an organization that manages the copyright agreement and administers compensation. Examples of organizations that represent authors are Konstnärernas Riksorganisation (KRO) and Svenska Artisters och Musikers Intresseorganisation (SAMI).

Copyright at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office (PRV)

Copyright and AI

Today, there are a number of tools for producing images, text and sound using artificial intelligence, AI. The question is who owns the copyright to these works.

To be able to obtain copyright, it is required that the person who created the work is human, and has been able to make free creative choices in the process. Therefore, no one can copyright an image produced solely with the help of an AI tool.

However, the right to use the image may be protected by the terms of use you agreed to when you created an account in the AI ​​tool, so it's important to pay attention to the fine print.

Questions and answers about images and AI at the Swedish Intellectual Property Office