Photo Credit: 愚木混株 Yumu
Senators Adam Schiff and John Curtis unveil the CLEAR Act, which would require tech companies to disclose copyrighted works used to train their AI.
On Tuesday, February 10, Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Senator John Curtis (R-UT) proposed the Copyright Labeling and Ethical Reporting (CLEAR) Act, a bill that would require tech companies to disclose the copyrighted works used to train their AI models.
If passed, the bill would force tech companies to file a notice with the Register of Copyrights that outlines the copyrighted works used to train their AI systems. It would also require that such notices be filed before the public release of new AI models, and would also require retroactive notices to be filed for AI models already available.
Further, the U.S. Copyright Office would be tasked with creating an open (and accessible) database of these notices to ensure greater transparency over which works have been used for which publicly available AI model. Civil penalties would be enacted on companies that fail to comply.
“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,” said Senator Schiff. “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.”
“Congress must help encourage AI innovation, but not without transparency and accountability,” added Senator Curtis. “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 American creativity.”
Though just introduced, the bill has already seen bipartisan support and endorsements from numerous creator advocacy organizations. These include the Copyright Alliance, SAG-AFTRA, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Writers Guild of America (WGA) East and West, Directors Guild of America (DGA), the American Federation of Musicians, the National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA), the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), SoundExchange, the Authors Guild, the Artists Rights Alliance, the Television Academy, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
“There is an urgent need for transparency in the use of copyrighted works by AI companies in AI models that are released to the public,” said the Copyright Alliance in a statement to Digital Music News. “The Copyright Alliance has long been an advocate for legislation to require transparency related to the development and deployment of publicly available AI models.”
“Transparency regarding ingestion of unlicensed copyrighted works by businesses that offer generative AI systems to the public will help ensure that the rights of copyright owners are respected, and that AI development is being implemented in a way that is responsible and ethical. Adequate and appropriate transparency and record-keeping benefit both copyright owners and AI developers in resolving questions regarding infringement, fair use, and compliance with licensing terms.”
“We thank Senators Schiff and Curtis for their tremendous ongoing support of creators and the creator community. We look forward to working with them and other members of Congress, as well as additional policymakers and stakeholders, to ensure that appropriately crafted and effective transparency legislation that protects copyright owners from infringement and misuse of their work becomes law.”
