[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9112 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9112
To provide visuals artists the exclusive right to authorize the
commercial exploitation, or public distribution in or affecting
interstate commerce of a stylistic impersonation of that visual artist,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 2, 2026
Ms. Van Duyne (for herself, Ms. Clarke of New York, and Mrs. Foushee)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide visuals artists the exclusive right to authorize the
commercial exploitation, or public distribution in or affecting
interstate commerce of a stylistic impersonation of that visual artist,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Creative Rights Ensuring Artists'
Technique and Originality are Reserved Act'' or the ``CREATOR Act''.
SEC. 2. RIGHT AGAINST STYLISTIC IMPERSONATION.
(a) Grant of Right.--Subject to the limitations and exclusions of
this Act, each visual artist or right holder shall have the exclusive
right to authorize the commercial exploitation, or public distribution
in or affecting interstate commerce of a stylistic impersonation of
that visual artist.
(b) Nature of the Right.--The right established under this
section--
(1) is a Federal intellectual property right distinct from
copyright and trademark;
(2) does not extend to ideas, concepts, genres, artistic
movements, commonly used visual styles, or artistic methods
that are not publicly associated with the work of a visual
artist;
(3) applies only to deliberate stylistic impersonation as
defined in this Act;
(4) shall not be construed to prohibit general artistic
influence, independent human authorship, or non-material
artificial intelligence assistance; and
(5) is licensable and assignable, in whole or in part, on
an exclusive basis by written agreement.
(c) Duration and Registration.--
(1) Living visual artists.--For a living visual artist, the
right shall subsist for the life of the visual artist.
(2) Deceased visual artists.--For a deceased visual artist,
the right shall subsist for 10 years after death and may be
renewed in 5-year increments, up to a maximum of 50 years after
death.
(3) Renewal.--Renewal of a post-mortem right shall be
effective only upon filing a notice with the Register of
Copyrights identifying--
(A) the deceased artist;
(B) the right holder; and
(C) such additional information as the Register of
Copyrights may reasonably require.
(d) Directory of Post-Mortem Rights.--The Register of Copyrights
shall maintain a publicly accessible online directory of registered
post-mortem rights under this Act.
(e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed
to limit the ability of a visual artist or right holder to authorize
conduct that would otherwise constitute stylistic impersonation under
this Act.
SEC. 3. LIABILITY.
(a) Conduct Giving Rise to Liability.--A person shall be liable
under this Act only if, in or affecting interstate commerce, the person
knowingly engages in one of the following acts without authorization:
(1) Offering for sale, selling, licensing, publicly
distributing, or otherwise commercially exploiting a stylistic
impersonation of a visual artist.
(2) Developing and expressly marketing for commercial
distribution a product or service that is both--
(A) intentionally configured for the purpose of
generating stylistic impersonations of one or more
visual artists; and
(B) promoted as capable of generating such
stylistic impersonations.
(b) Protection for General-Purpose Artificial Intelligence
Systems.--
(1) In general.--The development, distribution, licensing,
or provision of a general-purpose artificial intelligence
system shall not give rise to liability under this Act unless
the provider of the system is both--
(A) intentionally configured the system for the
purpose of generating stylistic impersonations of a
specifically identified visual artist; and
(B) expressly marketed the system as capable of
generating such stylistic impersonations.
(2) Exception for mere capability.--Mere capability of a
system to generate outputs resembling the distinctive visual
characteristics of a visual artist, or the independent actions
of a user of a general-purpose artificial intelligence system,
shall not give rise to liability absent the conduct described
in paragraph (1).
(c) Knowledge or Notice Requirement.--
(1) Persons other than online services.--
(A) In general.--A person other than an online
service shall be liable under subsection (a) only if
the person knew, or deliberately avoided confirming,
that the work met the definition of stylistic
impersonation of a specifically identified visual
artist under this Act.
(B) Limitation.--No person shall be deemed to have
such knowledge solely by reason of the general
capability of a system to generate outputs resembling
the works of a visual artist.
(2) Online services.--An online service shall not be liable
for user-generated content unless, after receipt of a valid
notice under section 5 or a court order, the service knowingly
fails to act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the
user-generated content identified in the notice as constituting
a stylistic impersonation.
SEC. 4. EXCLUSIONS.
(a) Excluded Activities.--The following uses shall not constitute a
violation of this Act, provided that such uses do not involve the
commercial exploitation of a stylistic impersonation intended to
mislead as to source, sponsorship, or approval--
(1) commentary, criticism, scholarship, research, or
teaching;
(2) parody or satire that comments upon or critiques the
identified visual artist or the distinctive visual
characteristics at issue;
(3) historical, biographical, or documentary works,
including reasonable fictionalization, where the use does not
falsely suggest endorsement or authorization;
(4) news reporting or public affairs commentary in which
reference to the distinctive visual characteristics is
materially relevant to the subject matter; and
(5) uses resulting in fleeting, incidental, or negligible
resemblance that do not reproduce a material combination of
distinctive visual characteristics.
(b) Obscenity.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to
exempt from liability the use of a stylistic impersonation in material
that is obscene under applicable law.
SEC. 5. ONLINE SERVICE SAFE HARBORS.
(a) Limitation on Liability for Online Services.--An online service
shall not be liable for a violation under section 3 arising from user-
generated content if the service--
(1) has designated an agent to receive notifications of
claimed violations under this Act;
(2) upon receipt of a valid notice under subsection (b),
acts expeditiously to remove or disable access to the
identified material; and
(3) adopts and reasonably implements a policy providing for
the termination, in appropriate circumstances, of repeat
violators.
(b) No Requirement To Monitor.--No online service shall be required
to monitor user content proactively or to affirmatively seek facts
indicating potential violations of this Act.
(c) Notification Requirements.--A notification of claimed violation
under this Act shall include--
(1) identification of the visual artist whose work is
allegedly impersonated;
(2) identification of the material claimed to constitute a
stylistic impersonation;
(3) a statement that the notifying party has a good-faith
belief that the use is not authorized; and
(4) information reasonably sufficient to permit the online
service to contact the notifying party.
(d) Counter-Notification and Restoration.--
(1) Submission.--A user whose material has been removed or
disabled pursuant to a notification under this section may
submit a counter-notification stating, under penalty of
perjury, that the material was removed or disabled as a result
of mistake or misidentification.
(2) Notification.--Upon receipt of a valid counter-
notification, the online service shall promptly notify the
original notifying party.
(3) Restoration.--The online service may restore the
removed material not less than 10 business days and not more
than 14 business days after receipt of the counter-notification
unless the notifying party provides notice that a civil action
has been filed seeking a court order restraining the user from
engaging in the allegedly unlawful activity.
(e) Misrepresentation and Abuse of Process.--
(1) Liability.--Any person who knowingly and materially
misrepresents that material constitutes a stylistic
impersonation shall be liable for--
(A) actual damages suffered by the alleged
violator;
(B) costs and reasonable attorneys' fees; and
(C) statutory damages of not less than $5,000 per
material misrepresentation.
(2) Failure to conduct evaluation.--A failure to conduct a
reasonable and good-faith evaluation of whether the material
meets the definition of stylistic impersonation may constitute
a knowing material misrepresentation.
(3) Repeated bad-faith notifications.--Repeated bad-faith
notifications may result in suspension of notice privileges
under this Act.
SEC. 6. CIVIL ACTIONS AND REMEDIES.
(a) Civil Action.--
(1) In general.--A civil action under this Act may be
brought by a right holder against a person who violates section
3.
(2) Safe harbors.--A person whose conduct falls within the
limitations or safe harbors provided in sections 3 or 5 shall
not be liable under this Act.
(b) Remedies.--In a civil action under this Act, the court may
award the following:
(1) Injunctive relief.--Temporary or permanent injunctive
relief that is narrowly tailored to prevent ongoing or future
violations of this Act.
(2) Other relief.--At the election of the prevailing
plaintiff, either--
(A) actual damages suffered by the right holder and
any profits of the violator attributable to the
violation; or
(B) statutory damages as provided in paragraph (3).
(3) Statutory damages.--Statutory damages may be awarded,
in lieu of actual damages and profits, as follows:
(A) For a commercial actor that intentionally
engaged in stylistic impersonation: not less than
$10,000 and not more than $100,000 per stylistic
impersonation work commercially exploited.
(B) For willful violations involving intentional
targeting and commercial exploitation: not less than
$50,000 and not more than $150,000 per work.
(4) Considerations for statutory damages.--In determining
statutory damages, the court or jury, as applicable, shall
consider--
(A) the willfulness of the conduct;
(B) the scale and duration of dissemination;
(C) the commercial impact on the right holder;
(D) the defendant's efforts to comply with this
Act; and
(E) whether the defendant qualifies for any
limitation on liability under this Act.
(c) No Award of Statutory Damages.--Statutory damages shall not be
awarded where the defendant establishes that the conduct falls within a
limitation, exclusion, or safe harbor under this Act.
SEC. 7. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
(a) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed--
(1) to limit, expand, or replace copyright protection under
title 17, United States Code;
(2) to grant exclusive rights over ideas, concepts, genres,
artistic movements, or commonly used visual styles methods;
(3) to impose a duty on any online service or provider of a
general-purpose artificial intelligence system to monitor
content proactively or to affirmatively seek facts indicating
potential violations of this Act;
(4) to prohibit lawful artistic influence, stylistic
evolution, independent human authorship, or non-material use of
artificial intelligence;
(5) to create liability for the mere development,
availability, or licensing of an artificial intelligence system
absent intentional targeting as defined in this Act; or
(6) to restrict speech protected by the First Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States.
(b) No Training Data Inference.--The mere capacity of an artificial
intelligence system to generate outputs that resemble or incorporate
distinctive visual characteristics publicly associated with a visual
artist shall not give rise to any presumption, inference, or
evidentiary showing that--
(1) the system was trained on any specific work of that
visual artist; or
(2) any particular dataset containing works associated with
that visual artist was used in the training, fine-tuning, or
operation of the system.
(c) Limitation on Civil Action.--No civil action under this Act may
be predicated solely on claims regarding the training data, training
process, or internal parameters of an artificial intelligence system,
except to the extent such claims are independently actionable under
other applicable law.
SEC. 8. PREEMPTION.
(a) Limited Preemption.--This Act shall preempt State law causes of
action only to the extent that such causes of action impose liability
for conduct that constitutes stylistic impersonation as defined in this
Act.
(b) Preservation of Other Law.--Nothing in this Act shall be
construed to preempt or limit--
(1) State or Federal copyright law;
(2) State or Federal trademark or false endorsement law;
(3) State right-of-publicity or misappropriation claims
based on name, likeness, voice, or other protected personal
attributes; or
(4) State unfair competition or consumer protection laws
that regulate deceptive or misleading commercial conduct
independent of stylistic impersonation as defined in this Act.
SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision
to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this
Act and the application of its remaining provisions shall not be
affected.
SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Artificial intelligence system.--The term ``artificial
intelligence system'' means a machine-based system that infers
from input data how to generate visual expressive content in
fixed or static form and that operates with a degree of
autonomy beyond purely deterministic rule-based automation.
(2) Artist.--The term ``artist'' means a human individual
who has created and publicly distributed or exhibited original
visual works of authorship.
(3) Authorization.--The term ``authorization'' means
express written permission granted by the applicable right
holder for the commercial exploitation or public distribution
of a stylistic impersonation.
(4) Distinctive visual characteristics.--The term
``distinctive visual characteristics'' means identifiable
visual elements, taken together, that are consistently present
in a visual artist's publicly distributed works and that are
publicly associated with that artist.
(5) General-purpose artificial intelligence system.--The
term ``general-purpose artificial intelligence system'' means
an artificial intelligence system designed for a broad range of
lawful uses and not primarily configured to generate works
emulating the distinctive visual characteristics of a
specifically identified visual artist.
(6) Material.--The term ``material'' means significant in
relation to the work as a whole and not merely incidental or de
minimis.
(7) Online service.--The term ``online service'' means a
provider of an interactive computer service, as defined in
section 230(f) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
230(f)), that hosts, transmits, indexes, or provides access to
user-generated content.
(8) Public distribution.--The term ``public distribution''
means making a work available to the public, whether for sale
or otherwise, by offering it for sale, display, transmission,
posting, publication on a website or online service, or other
means of public dissemination.
(9) Right holder.--The term ``right holder'' means--
(A) the visual artist; or
(B) a person or entity that has lawfully acquired,
by written assignment, inheritance, or operation of
law, one or more of the exclusive right granted under
this Act.
(10) Specifically identified visual artist.--The term
``specifically identified visual artist'' means a visual artist
whose name or one or more distinctive visual characteristics is
expressly referenced in the prompting, configuration,
marketing, or operation of an artificial intelligence system,
or in the promotion of the resulting output.
(11) Stylistic impersonation.--
(A) In general.--The term ``stylistic
impersonation'' means a visual work generated in whole
or in material part through the use of an artificial
intelligence system that--
(i) was intentionally configured, prompted,
marketed, or otherwise designed to emulate the
distinctive visual characteristics publicly
associated with a visual artist; and
(ii) reproduces a combination of those
distinctive visual characteristics in a manner
likely to mislead a reasonable viewer as to the
source, sponsorship, or approval of the work or
to affect the commercial market for the visual
artist's work.
(B) Intentional design.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), intentional design may be established
by evidence that the artificial intelligence system or
its operator--
(i) expressly referenced the visual artist
or their work in prompts, configuration
settings, or user-facing interfaces;
(ii) marketed or promoted the system or the
resulting output as capable of imitating the
visual artist's work; or
(iii) configured the system for the purpose
to produce outputs substantially reflecting the
visual artist's distinctive visual
characteristics.
(C) Limitation.--The term ``stylistic
impersonation'' does not include--
(i) works reflecting general artistic
influence, genre conventions, or historical
movements;
(ii) works created through independent
human authorship without deliberate targeting
of a specifically identified visual artist's
work;
(iii) parody, satire, commentary,
scholarship, or other expressive uses protected
under section 4; or
(iv) works generated by a general-purpose
artificial intelligence system absent evidence
of intentional targeting of a specifically
identified visual artist's work.
(12) Visual work.--The term ``visual work'' means a work
consisting of a fixed or static visual image, including
illustrations, photographs, graphic designs, paintings,
drawings, or similar visual media, but does not include motion
pictures, audiovisual works, or sound recordings.
SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect 180 days after the
enactment of the enactment of this Act.
(b) Prospective Application.--This Act shall apply only to conduct
occurring on or after the effective date.
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