The U.S. Patent Office has granted Apple a patent for the method of the creation of deepfakes which can alter someone’s face in a photograph. This decision has demonstrated that deepfake technology is present in relation to intellectual property rights and Apple is at the forefront of it within the USA.
The background on deepfakes
The creation of deepfakes can be beneficial as it can be used in drama related performances and on a humour basis, however it is also commonly used maliciously to spread false information or on a fraudulent basis. There are several apps that can be used by individuals which would allow them to add their face to the face of another, such as a celebrity.
From an intellectual property perspective, deepfakes that are created digitally can potentially fall within artistic works as a photograph, video, or a computer-generated work. Copyright will not exist in a deepfake if it is infringing a copy of an earlier work and therefore lacks originality.
Apple’s patent
The patent Apple have applied for essentially describes how AI can reference images to adjust a human’s facial expression. For example, a picture of a smiling person could become a photo of someone frowning. It could theoretically be used to produce enough images strung together to mimic someone talking in a film. Apple in their patent application stated that the deepfake technology can change and alter an existing image but cannot create an image from scratch.
Conclusion
There could be a potential claim of breach of privacy with deepfakes, for example when private representation is the basis of a deepfake footage. Therefore, the courts would need to consider how they approach the creation and reproduction of deepfakes within intellectual property law.
By Abhiraj Aujla, an LLM Student from Solent University
