Denmark’s proposed copyright law would let even a bit-part actor control AI clones of his face and voice for 50 years after his death, giving any natural person in Denmark long-term legal protection against deepfakes regardless of nationality.
Ebbe Munch Larsen still gets recognized twenty years after shouting one crude line in the Danish TV comedy Klovn. The bit role on the street was never intended to define him. Yet strangers still shout the words back at him when he walks through Copenhagen. Under Denmark’s draft copyright amendments, unveiled on 26 June 2025, Larsen’s brief performance could one day be legally protected for half a century after his death.
Section 65-a of the proposed law gives performing artists control over realistic, digitally generated imitations of their performances. Section 73-a extends similar protection to any individual whose face, voice or body is cloned by AI. Both rights last for life plus 50 years from the year of death. That means an actor famous for a single shouted phrase could legally block deepfake versions of himself until half a century after he dies. According to legal analysis by Schjødt law firm, Denmark is among the first European countries to embed deepfake protection directly in copyright law with a posthumous term.
Why Denmark Is Rewriting Copyright for the AI Age
The Culture Ministry frames deepfakes as a copyright problem, not just a privacy issue. According to legal analyses by Schjødt and specialist commentators, existing Danish law gave individuals only limited tools to stop realistic digital clones from spreading online, leaving a grey zone covered only by general tort and privacy rules. The new sections allow anyone, citizen or expat, to demand takedowns and seek compensation under general civil-law rules, particularly where they can show loss or harm. Platforms that ignore removal requests risk fines. The government sent the bill into formal consultation on 7 July 2025 and, according to reporting by AP and The New York Times, expects parliament to pass it before year end.
As reported by AP and The New York Times, Culture Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt has said the law would give citizens copyright over their own likeness. Individuals would gain the right to own their voice and features, and no one could replicate them without permission. According to a Schjødt law firm briefing, legal analysts describe the reform as a novel move that turns bodily and vocal identity into a copyright-style entitlement.
Who Gets Protected and for How Long
The draft applies to any natural person whose likeness is distributed in Denmark, regardless of nationality. For performing artists, that includes realistic AI clones of stage or screen work. For everyone else, it covers digitally generated imitations of physical characteristics like face, body and voice. The protection period mirrors existing copyright durations for certain artistic rights: life plus 50 years from the year of death.
That duration is slightly shorter than the life plus 70 years that applies to literary and musical works across the EU, according to EU copyright framework references cited in legal commentary. Yet it still means a deceased public figure, from an actor to a local musician, could control how AI depicts them until children born the year they die reach middle age. For Larsen, that would mean legal control over deepfake versions of his Klovn cameo stretching decades into the future.
Satire, Parody and the Fine Line
The bill explicitly exempts parody, caricature, pastiche and social criticism. That matters in a country where comedy thrives on exaggerated portrayals and uncomfortable humor. Realistic deepfakes used clearly in satire may be allowed, but the boundary between lawful parody and harmful imitation remains undefined. According to specialist tech-law commentary and New York Times analysis, critics worry that platforms will over-remove content to avoid fines, chilling legitimate satire in the process.
There is also disagreement over who faces sanctions. As reported by AP, platforms rather than social media users are the primary target of fines, and the law creates no criminal penalties for posting deepfakes. Other commentary suggests individual uploaders could face penalties too, reflecting genuine ambiguity in the draft. Instead of criminal charges, the law provides a copyright basis to order removal and then pursue damages under general civil rules, which require some form of loss.
What This Means for Expats and Internationals
For non-Danish residents, the reform offers territorial protection without nationality requirements. According to legal commentaries on draft section 73-a, the provisions apply to any natural person whose likeness is disseminated within Denmark’s jurisdiction. An expat whose face or voice is cloned in a deepfake accessible in Denmark can demand takedown and seek compensation, even if the uploader is abroad.
However, these rights only apply to dissemination within Denmark. They do not automatically force removal from platforms in other jurisdictions unless those platforms respond globally to Danish takedown demands. Victims will need to document the deepfake and may benefit from legal advice or union support for complex cases.
Denmark is building on an existing broadcast archive regime that uses extended collective licences to balance access with rights protection. According to TV 2’s rights documentation and an EFTA presentation on Danish broadcast provisions, TV 2 and other broadcasters already operate under strict digital rights management and geo-filtering requirements. Those existing practices will be directly relevant when platforms must ensure deepfake takedowns are effective within Danish territory. By embedding deepfake protection in copyright rather than data protection law, Denmark may set a European precedent for treating digital identity as intellectual property.
A Legal Legacy from One Line
Ebbe Munch Larsen never expected his brief street scene to follow him for two decades. Under the proposed law, it could follow his estate for five more. Whether that protects dignity or stifles creativity will depend on how courts interpret realistic imitation versus satirical exaggeration. For now, Denmark is betting that giving people ownership of their own faces and voices, even after death, is the best defense against an age when anyone can be cloned with a few clicks.
