100 signatures reached
To: Representatives Kristen González, Steve Padilla, Scott Wiener, Adam Schiff, Nathaniel Moran, Darrell Issa, Jay Obernolte and Senators Chris Coons, Marsha Blackburn, Amy Klobuchar, Thom Tillis, Maria Cantwell, Martin Heinrich, Peter Welch
Protect Artists' Rights: Stop Unlicensed AI Training
This petition is initiated by Jennifer Judkins, Managing Director of the Artist Management Association (AMA), on behalf of the organization and its members.
We, the undersigned, urge lawmakers to protect artists, photographers, illustrators, and other creatives from the unauthorized use of their work in training artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
We, the undersigned, urge lawmakers to protect artists, photographers, illustrators, and other creatives from the unauthorized use of their work in training artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
Artists' works are protected under copyright law for a reason. They are original, expressive, and the result of years of training, labor, and vision. Yet many AI developers are scraping copyrighted images, videos, and likenesses without consent to train generative AI tools. These tools increasingly compete with the very creators whose work they exploit.
This issue is gaining urgency amid legal uncertainty. Two major copyright cases: Perfect 10 v. Google and Grecco v. Valve. Both of which raise critical questions about how copyright applies to embedded art and AI training. Simultaneously, the sudden termination of Copyright Office Director Shira Perlmutter, shortly after the release of a report warning against unlicensed AI training, has further shaken public trust in the protection of creators' rights.
We call on legislators to:
- Require explicit consent for using copyrighted works in AI training
- Enforce fair compensation for artistic work/creative content
- Reject any attempts to preempt stronger state protections with weak federal standards
The future of creativity depends on clear, enforceable protections. Innovation must not come at the cost of the very artists who inspire it.
Sign to stand for copyright, consent, and creative justice.
Why is this important?
AI technologies are advancing rapidly, often at the expense of artists whose copyrighted work is being used without permission or compensation to train these systems. This threatens the livelihoods of working creatives who are real humans with vision, skill and soul; their work scraped without consent and used to train AI models that now compete for jobs, visibility, and compensation.
This affects us all, not just artists. We need to set laws now before artists lose ownership of their creative works. Whether you're an artist, an ally, or someone who values human-made work, this is the moment to stand up for creative authorship, copyright, and fair compensation. Join us in demanding transparency, accountability, and legal protections for our creative industries.