The AI Act timeline
The AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) regulates AI systems according to risk. Prohibited practices and the obligation to ensure sufficient AI literacy of staff (Art. 4) apply since 2 February 2025; obligations for general-purpose AI models since 2 August 2025. With the Digital Omnibus (Regulation (EU) 2026/1744), the high-risk obligations were postponed to 2 December 2027 for stand-alone systems under Annex III and to 2 August 2028 for AI in regulated products under Annex I.
Provider or deployer?
Most companies are deployers: they use AI systems under their own authority. Anyone who develops an AI system or places it on the market under its own name is a provider – and anyone who substantially modifies a third-party system or rebrands it may become one, with far more obligations.
Beyond the AI Act
Using AI also raises questions of data protection (legal basis, transparency, automated decisions under Art. 22 GDPR), copyright (training data, protection of AI output), trade secrets and employment law, including co-determination rights of works councils. We combine legal and technical expertise to address all of these in one consistent approach.
Case studies: AI Law & AI Act
AI inventory for a manufacturer
Staff using public chatbots
Software vendor integrating a language model
The examples are typical, anonymised and simplified scenarios from our practice. Every case is different – the outcome depends on the individual circumstances.
Our services: AI Law & AI Act
- AI inventory and risk classification
- AI policies and AI literacy training
- AI contracts for buyers and vendors
- GDPR and data protection impact assessments
- Copyright and AI
- AI in HR and works council agreements
How we work with you
FAQ: AI Law & AI Act
Does the AI Act apply to my company?
Very likely, if you use AI systems professionally. Most deployers mainly need to ensure AI literacy and, depending on the system, comply with transparency duties. Extensive obligations apply to providers and deployers of high-risk systems.
What are the fines under the AI Act?
Up to EUR 35 million or 7 % of global annual turnover for prohibited practices, and up to EUR 15 million or 3 % for other breaches. Lower amounts apply to SMEs.
Is AI-generated content protected by copyright?
Under German law, copyright requires a human intellectual creation. Purely machine-generated output is generally not protected; human creative input may establish protection.
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