Searchlight AI
Spain

Spain has already implemented or is in the process of implementing laws in AI:

• The Extremadura Decree-Law 2/2023 advocates for ethical and trustworthy AI aligned with EU recommendations. It promotes digital literacy and workforce development in AI, encourages public-private collaboration for AI innovations and establishes testing environments.
• The Galicia Draft Law for the Development and Promotion of Artificial Intelligence (December 2024) aims to ensure "ethical, safe, reliable, and human-centred" implementation and use of AI. It will regulate the use of AI in public administration and services, the oversight of design and application processes, tools for management and collaboration, and measures to facilitate and promote the use of AI in various sectors.

Spain is subject to EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It has passed Organic Law 3/2018 Protection of Personal Data and guarantee of digital rights (LOPDGDD) adapting the Spanish legal system to GDPR requirements on personal data, as required. The legislation regulates the use of personal data in AI systems and grants the right to avoid being subject to automated decisions that significantly impact individuals.

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEDP) provides various guidelines on the AI-data interaction, including by way of compliance with the GDPR:

• Guidelines on adaptation to the GDPR for processing activities involving Artificial Intelligence from the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) (2020), which seeks to address concerns raised within the framework of personal data protection and highlight the most relevant aspects of the AI-GDPR relationship that must be considered from the design phase and when implementing processing activities involving AI.
• Guidelines on requirements for Audits of Processing Activities Involving AI from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) (2021), which provides an initial approach to a set of controls that could be incorporated into audits of personal data processing activities utilising components based on AI, within the framework of the Guidelines on Adaptation to the GDPR for Processing Activities Involving AI.
• Guidelines on biometric attendance control systems from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) (2023), which establishes the requirements and measures that must be met for the processing of personal data using biometric technology that uses AI techniques, ensuring biometric systems adequately comply with the GDPR.

Spain prohibits algorithmic discrimination in labour and social contexts under Organic Law 3/2007 for Effective Equality Between Women and Men (as amended in 2022) and requires audits in order to detect biases in algorithms which could lead to discrimination.

The Statute of Workers' Rights (Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015) further establishes that the legal representatives of employees are entitled to be informed about the parameters, rules, and instructions on which algorithms or artificial intelligence systems are based, that may impact working conditions, access to and retention of employment, including the creation of worker profiles.

Copyright

According to Spain's Intellectual Property Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996), only natural persons can be reputed authors of a work, meaning works created entirely by AI are not protected unless significant creative intervention from a human concurs.

Training of AI systems is one of the key areas where copyrights may be affected by AI systems. AI developers often intend to be covered by text and data mining exemptions. In line with the relevant EU directives, Spain’s Intellectual Property Law (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996) allows text and data mining without authorisation for scientific research purposes by public or non-profit entities, provided copies are securely stored and not used for other purposes. It also permits text and data mining of publicly accessible content for commercial or non-commercial purposes, except where rights holders explicitly opted out by clearly indicating exclusions.

Albeit a non-regulatory initiative, the Guidelines on Best Practices in the Use of AI (2024) issued by the Ministry of Culture aim to ensure that AI is used as a support tool for creators and cultural professionals while respecting copyrights. The guidelines stipulate that, in the hiring of creative services, human work should be prioritized, with AI only being used as a complementary tool. Additionally, for national awards on culture, it promotes the inclusion of clauses preventing the recognition of works created entirely by generative AI, and for subsidies it recommends including clauses to ensure compliance with current regulations on AI and intellectual property.

Patents

The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) Law 24/2015 on Patents stipulates that the right to a patent belongs to the inventor or their successors, being a natural person. This means that even AI significantly contributes to the invention process, it cannot be legally recognised as an inventor itself. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) has stated that no changes to current legislation are needed, as a natural person can always be identified as the inventor in cases of AI-assisted inventions.