Summary of the CLEAR Act (S. 3813)

Overview

The CLEAR Act (Copyright Labeling and Ethical AI Reporting Act) is a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate on February 10, 2026. The main purpose of the bill is to require a notice to be submitted to the Register of Copyrights for any copyrighted works used in the training of generative artificial intelligence (AI) models.

Key Provisions

• Definitions: The bill defines key terms such as "artificial intelligence", "copyrighted work", "generative AI model", and "training dataset".
• Notice Requirement: The bill mandates that any person using a training dataset containing copyrighted works to train or release a generative AI model must submit a notice to the Register of Copyrights. This notice must include a detailed summary of each copyrighted work in the dataset and the URL if the dataset is publicly available online.
• Timing of Notice: The notice must be submitted at least 30 days before the generative AI model is used commercially or released, or within 30 days after the Register issues regulations if the model was released before the bill's effective date.
• Enforcement and Penalties: The bill allows the owner of a copyrighted work to bring a civil action against a person who fails to submit the required notice. The court may impose civil penalties of at least $5,000 per violation, up to a $2.5 million annual limit, and issue injunctions or award attorney's fees.
• Public Database: The Register of Copyrights is required to establish and maintain a publicly accessible online database containing all notices submitted under the bill.

Impact

The CLEAR Act aims to increase transparency around the use of copyrighted works in the development of generative AI models. By requiring notices to be filed with the Copyright Office, the bill seeks to:
- Provide copyright holders with visibility into how their works are being used in AI training
- Allow the public to better understand the data sources and potential biases in generative AI models
- Incentivize AI developers to be more diligent in obtaining permissions or licenses for copyrighted works used in their models

Overall, the bill represents an effort to balance the needs of AI innovation with the rights of copyright holders as these technologies continue to advance.