July Highlights: Congress Rejects Big Tech’s Push to Block AI Rules
During last month’s deliberations on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), Big Tech lobbyists pushed to include an “AI moratorium” provision that would have imposed a 10-year ban on state-level regulation of artificial intelligence. While the proposal was framed as a well-intentioned effort to avoid a patchwork of conflicting rules and preserve U.S. leadership in AI, it would have preempted states from addressing growing concerns around the technology’s impact on intellectual property (IP) — such as the replication of individuals’ voices, images, and likenesses.
C4IP acknowledged the rationale behind the moratorium but cautioned that, on balance, it would do more harm than good. States have long served as “laboratories of democracy” — pioneering policies that strengthen certain IP protections and consumer rights — and foreclosing those opportunities in the AI context would be a significant loss. Singling out AI for special treatment would also set a troubling precedent for how emerging technologies are regulated. C4IP urged Congress to preserve states’ ability to craft thoughtful, rights-respecting frameworks that can help inform eventual federal legislation. Following pushback from C4IP and others, the Senate voted 99-1 to remove the moratorium from the final bill:
- C4IP Executive Director Frank Cullen issued a statement urging Congress to remove the AI moratorium from the bill, explaining that it would prevent states from testing creative policies and set a dangerous precedent for regulating future inventions and technologies.
- C4IP’s statement was featured in IPWatchdog’s article covering the removal of the moratorium, which also highlighted positive reactions from other organizations representing artists and creators.
- C4IP continues to support balanced policies that guide AI adoption while safeguarding intellectual property. Recent examples include Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security (ELVIS) Act, which protects musicians from AI impersonation, and the bipartisan federal Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe (NO FAKES) Act, which would codify Americans’ right to control the use of their voice and likeness — providing a legal foundation to combat unauthorized AI “deepfakes.”
- C4IP also backs federal reforms like the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act, the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), and the Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE)
Additional Coalition Updates
- On September 15-17, IPWatchdog will host its Second Annual Women’s IP Forum at IPWatchdog Studios in Ashburn, VA. The event will feature an all-women lineup of expert speakers in the IP field — including Board Member and former Federal Circuit Judge Kathleen O’Malley as well as C4IP Chief Policy Officer and Counsel Jamie Simpson. Learn more and register here.
- On August 26, C4IP and We Work for Health will host a roundtable in Raleigh, North Carolina, highlighting the critical role of intellectual property in fueling innovation, economic growth, and patient care. The event, Catalyzing North Carolina’s Innovation Ecosystem, will feature Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-2) and other leading voices from the state’s life sciences sector.
- A recording of the roundtable will be made available at a later date.
- On July 22, C4IP, CreativeFuture, and the Recording Industry Association of America hosted an event on Capitol Hill examining how IP rights aided the development of the film A Complete Unknown. The event featured opening remarks from C4IP Board Co-Chair David Kappos as well as remarks from industry veterans who worked on the movie and four members of the congressional Creative Rights Caucus: Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) and Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).
- On July 14, C4IP’s support of PERA was mentioned in an IPWatchdog article advocating for the bill’s passage, which also cited Senate testimony from C4IP Co-Chair Andrei Iancu on how confusion surrounding patent eligibility harms American competitiveness.
- On July 14, C4IP announced that two prominent public servants and IP advocates — the Honorable Gary Locke, who served as Governor of Washington, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, and U.S. Ambassador to China, and the Honorable Lamar Smith, who served as U.S. Representative from Texas’s 21st congressional district and chaired the House Judiciary Committee — have joined its Board. Their unmatched experience will strengthen C4IP’s efforts to promote smart, bipartisan IP policy reforms.
- C4IP’s announcement was mentioned in POLITICO’s Influence newsletter.
Read It Now: “Council for Innovation Promotion Welcomes Governor Gary Locke and Congressman Lamar Smith to Board”
- On July 9, C4IP Board Members and former Federal Circuit Judges Paul Michel and Judge Kathleen O’Malley published an opinion essay in Bloomberg Law tracing the history of the Supreme Court rulings that have undermined high-tech patent eligibility and emphasizing why passing PERA is vital to protect American competitiveness.
- Their piece was referenced in a July 15 JDSupra article discussing how PERA would spur innovation in the life science and biotechnology sectors.
“By reestablishing clear patent eligibility for cutting-edge technologies, PERA would reinvigorate tech investment and deliver a much-needed boost to the US’ global competitiveness.”
- On July 8, C4IP’s 2024 public comment on artificial intelligence and prior art patentability requirements — which cautioned the USPTO against instituting sweeping regulations that could discourage AI use in inventing — was cited in a JD Supra article on how AI use could affect the non-obviousness analysis of patent applications.