AI companies must disclose copyrighted training data—but can still use it
S. 3813 — CLEAR Act · Filed by Adam Schiff (D-CA) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Feb 10, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires AI companies and developers to notify the U.S. Copyright Office within 30 days before releasing or commercially using any generative AI model that was trained on copyrighted works. The notice must list each copyrighted work used and provide a link to the training dataset if publicly available. Violations can result in civil penalties of $5,000 per instance (capped at $2.5 million per year), injunctions stopping the AI's use, and attorney's fees paid to copyright owners. The Copyright Office will maintain a public database of all notices.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a mandatory disclosure requirement—not a ban on AI training with copyrighted works, not a licensing scheme, and not a compensation framework. It creates a registry and enforcement pathway for copyright owners to challenge non-disclosure, but does not restrict AI development itself.
What the text implies
- The bill does not require consent or compensation from copyright owners—only notice. AI companies can still train on copyrighted works; they simply must disclose it. This may legitimize AI training on copyrighted material as long as the notice is filed.
- The $2.5 million annual penalty cap is a hard ceiling per person/entity, not per violation. A large AI firm could train multiple models on thousands of copyrighted works and face a maximum $2.5M penalty annually, potentially making the cost of non-compliance negligible relative to the value of unrestricted training.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Copyright owners (ability to sue for non-disclosure); Law firms specializing in copyright litigation; The Copyright Office (penalties fund operating costs)