California Assembly approves AI Copyright Transparency Act, bill now moves to Senate
California Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, above, saw her AI Copyright Transparency Act passed by the full Assembly earlier this afternoon. The measure now moves to the Senate.
In a significant milestone for AI transparency, the California State Assembly this afternoon approved AB 412, the AI Copyright Transparency Act, by a vote of 42-13. The measure will now be considered in the State Senate.
The bill would protect performers, authors, and artists from copyright infringement by AI developers.
The Transparency Coalition has backed and testified in favor of AB 412, including at a hearing of the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee in March.
“We are excited to celebrate the passage of AB 412 by the California State Assembly,” said Transparency Coalition founder Jai Jaisimha. “This important bill builds upon the strong foundation of AB 2013 which was enacted in 2024. AB 412 bring much needed transparency requirements to copyrighted generative AI training inputs. AB 412 will provide visibility to creators who rely on their ability to protect their work through copyrights and quite simply make a living.”
Key provisions of the AI Copyright Transparency Act include:
Duty to Document: Requires developers to document any covered copyrighted materials that the developer knows were used to train the GenAI model.
Online Request Mechanism: Requires developers to establish a publicly accessible mechanism allowing copyright owners to submit requests for information. An external tool may be sufficient to satisfy this request.
Enforcement: Authorizes copyright owners to bring civil actions against developers who fail to provide required information.
Assm. Bauer-Kahan told the Assembly: “This is an important bill that will allow copyright holders to have transparency around their work. It is critically important, especially to those of you who are from Los Angeles who are experiencing the benefits of our creative economy every single day, that the rights holders are protected in the AI age by knowing how these models are trained on their data.”
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