In a recently published report, the U.S. Copyright Office found that training AI models on copyrighted works without consent erodes the value of original work and challenges the foundation of copyright law. However, the Copyright Office has recommended a ‘wait and see’ approach to hold off on exploring regulation and to let the market regulate itself. 

Can content creators afford to wait? 

At Mediavine, we represent over 17,000 independent digital publishers and believe there is no time for a ‘wait and see’ approach when the stakes are this high. Unauthorized use of copyright-protected material to train AI models and the increasing prevalence of AI-generated overlays that displace source content without attribution threaten to eliminate the very voices whose material AI uses.

This is why we’re calling on the U.S. Copyright Office to enact stronger protections now for creators. We are urging the Copyright Office to reconsider “waiting and seeing” to more definitive regulatory action to protect content creators. Specifically, we’re asking the U.S. Copyright Office to consider the following positions:

• AI-generated answers that pull from creator content must clearly credit, compensate, and link to the original source.
• Training AI on copyright-protected content without explicit permission should not be considered fair use.
• This practice disrespects the intellectual property rights of creators and undermines the economic value of their work.
• Transparency should be mandated across all generative AI systems.
• Platforms and model developers should be required to disclose training data sources, including whether copyright-protected content was used.
• Licensing frameworks must be developed that allow content creators to opt in and be paid for their work.
• Support for exploration of extended licensing, opt-in registries, or new models that ensure creators are included in the economic benefits generated by AI systems.

Read our letter here for more information. 

Sign this petition now to demand urgent action from the U.S. Copyright Office to protect creators and preserve the integrity of the open internet in the age of generative AI. Every voice and signature matters and can help to spur action.