Copyright Infringement and Style Controversy in Art Styles Mimicked by Artificial Intelligence

The essence of the matter:

Artificial intelligence systems can now create new works in the style of specific artists. For example, when a user says, "Draw a Van Gogh-style Istanbul landscape," the system can generate new content by mimicking Van Gogh's brush technique and use of color. The debate that arises at this point is:

Is an artist's style also subject to copyright protection?
Would the imitation of a style by artificial intelligence be considered copyright infringement?

Legal Assessment

Under the Turkish Copyright Law, a tangible expression is required for a "work" to be protected . An artist's style or manner is not a directly tangible work and therefore falls outside the scope of protection.

 However, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) has interpreted in its decisions that a style may be subject to copyright protection if it possesses "sufficiently distinctive and personal characteristics". These interpretations suggest that future expansions of this protection could be made through case law in the Turkish Copyright Law (FSEK).

Style Tip Recommendation:

In this context, a new conceptual protection regime called "style rights" can be proposed. Style rights aim to provide copyright protection against unauthorized digital replication of an artist's techniques, color choices, compositional habits, and stylistic combinations reflected in their works.

A proposal for a new legal institution:

In Turkish law, the principle of "protecting artistic style within the scope of personality rights" could be introduced through an amendment to the Copyright Law.

Example Concrete Case Study

A client is having their portrait drawn in the "Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu style" using an AI-powered application and is selling it as an NFT (Non-Footnote) device. Bedri Rahmi's heirs, however, may argue that this style is being used without permission and could demand both the removal of the artwork and compensation.

Developments in the International Arena

• The U.S. Copyright Officehas stated that style cannot be directly protected but acknowledges that "copying an artist's unique approach is unethical."

• The Copyright Administration of Japanhas launched a special commission to investigate the issue of "AI-generated style clones."

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence's ability to imitate artistic styles points to a new legal need that challenges traditional copyright understanding. Not only the works themselves, but also the way artists create them, are part of intellectual labor. Therefore, in the law of the future style rightswill form a protected area intertwined with personality rights and intellectual property rights.