The recently proposed Transparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks Act ("TRAIN Act") seeks to address the opaque nature of generative AI model training by amending Chapter 5 of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Introduced by Senator Peter Welch, the bill aims to empower copyright holders—musicians, artists, writers, and others—to determine if their copyrighted works have been used without consent in training generative AI models. As Senator Welch stated, "If your work is used to train A.I., there should be a way for you, the copyright holder, to determine that it's been used by a training model, and you should get compensated if it was."

At the core of the TRAIN Act is the introduction of a subpoena process under the new Section 514. This provision allows the legal or beneficial owner of a copyright to request the clerk of any U.S. district court to issue a subpoena to a "model developer or deployer" for disclosure of "copies of, or records sufficient to identify with certainty," the copyrighted works used to train a generative AI model. The requester must have a "subjective good faith belief" that their works were used and provide a sworn declaration outlining this belief, the purpose of obtaining the records, and an assurance that the information will be used solely to protect their rights.

Failure by an AI developer to comply with the subpoena would result in a "rebuttable presumption" that the developer made copies of the copyrighted work. This mechanism seeks to "solve the 'black box' problem," as few AI companies currently disclose their training data. By facilitating access to training records, the TRAIN Act responds to concerns from the creative community about unauthorized use of their works, signaling a legislative push towards greater transparency in AI development.

The introduction of the TRAIN Act indicates legislative intent to protect intellectual property rights as they relate to AI training. While only a few weeks remain in 2024, Senator Welch's office has stated it plans to reintroduce the TRAIN Act in 2025.

The bill can be found here.

A press release from Welch's office can be found here.