EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) are introducing a bill that touches on one of the hottest Hollywood-tech debates in the development of AI: The use of copyrighted works in training models.
The Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act would require companies file a notice with the Register of Copyrights that detail the copyrighted works used to train datasets for an AI model. The notice would have to be filed before a new model is publicly released, and would apply retroactively to models already available to consumers.
The Copyright Office also would be required to establish a public database of the notices filed. There also would be civil penalties for failure to disclose the works used.
Among the groups endorsing the legislation are SAG-AFTRA, the Writers Guild of America west and east, the Directors Guild of America, IATSE, the American Federation of Musicians, the Authors Guild, the National Association of Voice Actors, the National Music Publishers Association, the Artists Rights Alliance, SoundExchange and the Television Academy, per Schiff and Curtis.
The Recording Industry Association of America is backing the bill but, noticeably, the Motion Picture Association is not on the list. There’s been some disagreement among studios on how to respond to the emergence of AI, and the industry position has been that existing copyright law can address issued raised over the use of protected works.
The bill stops short of requiring AI companies license copyrighted works for use in training models, something that is the subject of multiple lawsuits brought by authors and creators. That question also is touched upon in litigation brought by Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Co. and NBC Universal against Midjourney.
AI companies have argued that their use of copyrighted works is a fair use, while President Donald Trump has said that a licensing requirement would be impractical.
In a statement, Schiff said, “While AI has the potential to improve our lives and change the way we work and innovate, we need a unified approach to implementing guardrails that protect the work and livelihoods of all workers, including artists and creators. Human creativity is the foundation of our cultural and creative economy, and it plays a vital role in shaping our society, our stories, and our shared experiences.”
Curtis said, “Congress must help encourage AI innovation, but not without transparency and accountability. The CLEAR Act strikes the right balance by protecting creators’ intellectual property while providing clear expectations for companies. By shedding light on how generative AI models are trained, our bipartisan legislation will help build public trust for emerging technologies and foster the best of American creativity.”
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