Denmark's likeness bill: 50 years after death, avatar checks

Denmark's proposed copyright amendment would require consent before realistic digital imitations of a person are made available, with protection lasting 50 years after the person's death. The European Commission raised concerns about it, including that the term exceeds EU limits, according to Communia's report. We have not read the bill text, and its status may have changed, so confirm before acting on any detail.

What is reported

How avatars enter the picture

Sume Avatar 1.0 creates a reusable avatar from one of three inputs: a text prompt, structured profile traits (props), or a reference image (photo). You then use the avatar handle to make talking videos with POST /v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video. The photo path is the one where a real person's face can enter the system.

A practical check before each photo avatar

The Sume docs describe the input types; they do not give legal guidance about who may be depicted. Put your own gate in front of the call.

• Do you hold written permission from the person shown in the reference image?
• Does the permission cover synthetic video, and for how long?
• If the person is deceased, who holds the rights, and does the permission survive?
• Could a prompt or profile avatar be mistaken for a real person? Keep a record of what you typed
• Where will the video be shown, Denmark included?

Keep a record

Store the avatar handle, the job id from the avatar generate call and the permission document together. A job id is the unit Sume uses for status and results, so it is the right join key for an audit trail.

What this post is not

It is not legal advice and it does not claim any Sume feature meets a Danish or EU requirement. For the US picture see the related posts on California and federal proposals.