The National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) is pleased to support AB412, which increases transparency around the use of copyrighted materials to train generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by requiring GenAI developers to provide copyright owners with information about how their materials have been used.
The National Association of Voice Actors (NAVA) is a professional association for voice actors and a social impact non-profit association created to advocate and promote the advancement of the voice acting industry. As the people behind iconic and beloved characters in TV, animation, film, video games, and more, voice actors stand to lose their livelihood and more with the advancement of GenAI. Copyright and ownership of sound files has become an issue at the forefront of our industry, and the lack of legislation around these new technological systems has negatively and tangibly impacted all entertainers.
GenAI developers frequently use copyrighted materials to train new systems without crediting or compensating the owners of those materials. In order for a copyright owner to exercise their rights with respect to a copyrighted material, the owner must first know how the material is being used. At present, copyright owners have no way of knowing whether a given copyrighted material was used to train a GenAI system or model.
AB 412 would address this problem, head-on. This bill is a powerful companion to AB 2013, which requires GenAI developers to disclose the data used to train their models. The bill additionally requires developers to create an online mechanism permitting copyright owners to submit such a request. The bill authorizes a copyright owner to bring a civil action against a developer who has not provided the owner with a list of copyrighted materials used to train the developer’s GenAI system or model. The AI Copyright Transparency Act is an important step toward giving all creators more control over how their work is used in GenAI.
AB 412 supports artists and creators by increasing transparency around the use of copyrighted materials to train GenAI
