Michiel Roels
Michiel Roels (2001) is a PhD Fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) at GIPLI, holding office at the Faculty of Law and Criminology Department of Interdisciplinary Study of Law, Private Law and Business Law.
Michiel graduated summa cum laude as a Master of Laws at Ghent University (2024). He obtained the highest grade over both the Bachelor's and Master's programmes, receiving the 2024 Valedictorian Award (award for the highest-performing student of his graduating class) across all years of the Bachelor's and Master's combined. His master’s thesis focused in the field of tort law and dealt with a specific type of government liability, being the Belgian GEBOL liability (gelijkheid van burgers voor de openbare lasten).
Michiel has not only dedicated himself to his law studies, but also engaged in extracurricular activities. He successfully completed the Think&Talk honours programme at Ghent University, and participated in the Academic Internship Program at The Washington Center in Washington, D.C. (2023).
As a full-time member of GIPLI, Michiel is currently preparing a doctoral dissertation in the area of intellectual property law. In addition, he frequently publishes articles in legal journals in this field, mainly focusing on copyright. As a researcher, he also has a high interest in other fields of IP law in comparative law, in tort law and in contract law.
His PhD research
Not My Style?! – Legal Protection for Styles
Renowned artists often spend years developing their own style. Therefore, it sometimes feels unfair that AI systems make it possible for anyone to generate new paintings or music “in the style of” these grand masters without any additional creative effort.
Copyright and design law only protect creations that constitute a sufficiently concrete form of expression. Mere ideas do not enjoy protection. The question of whether “styles” enjoy protection is not easy. As a matter of principle, styles are unprotectable, but this axiom is increasingly coming under pressure. Especially the fact that AI makes it possible to create paintings or music “in the style of X” makes artists fear for their jobs. Who will still pay for their work if AI offers a (nearly) free alternative with the same look-and-feel?
Even if intellectual property law offers no solution, the question arises whether there are no alternative protection regimes. Although the emergence of AI draws attention to the importance of this research, it goes beyond AI. It is conceivable that there are other circumstances in which style protection exists or is desirable. Through qualitative and comparative law research, Michiel's project will, for the very first time, tackle the questions as to what extent style is eligible for protection today (de lege lata) and to what extent normative changes are desirable in the future (de lege ferenda).
Michiel Roels' research is financed by the FWO Research Foundation Flanders and supervised by Prof. Dr. Simon Geiregat (supervisor) and Prof. Dr. Hendrik Vanhees (co-supervisor). It runs from September 2024 to October 2028.