Creators are searching for clear answers on two fast-moving stories: the NO FAKES Act, which aims to protect your voice and likeness from unauthorized AI clones, and H.R. 6028, which restructures the U.S. Copyright Office. They are usually covered separately. They shouldn't be, because one decides whether the other actually works.
A new law that protects creators is only as strong as the agency responsible for interpreting and enforcing it.
What the NO FAKES Act does
The NO FAKES Act (Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act) would establish a federal right protecting a person's voice and visual likeness from unauthorized AI-generated replicas. For musicians and producers, that means a clear path to act against deepfaked vocals, cloned voices, and AI tracks that imitate a real artist without consent. It creates liability for those who produce or distribute unauthorized digital replicas, and for platforms that host them after notice.
For independent creators, this is one of the first serious attempts to give individuals, not just labels, a tool against AI impersonation.
Where H.R. 6028 comes in
H.R. 6028 separates the Copyright Office from the Library of Congress and makes the Register of Copyrights a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate. The Copyright Office is the institution that issues guidance on how AI and copyright interact, shapes the government's official position on AI training and likeness rights, and influences how new statutes like the NO FAKES Act are implemented in practice.
Congress can pass the strongest AI-protection law in the world. If the agency interpreting it answers to an administration aligned with AI companies, enforcement can be quietly narrowed.
That is the connection most coverage misses. The NO FAKES Act sets the rule. The Copyright Office, under whoever the president appoints, helps decide how aggressively that rule is read, what counts as a violation, and how it lines up with fair use and AI training arguments.
Why the timing matters
In May 2025 the Copyright Office released a report siding with human creators: training AI on copyrighted work without authorization likely constitutes infringement, and consent should be the baseline. The Register who led that report, Shira Perlmutter, was fired the next day. H.R. 6028 was introduced in November 2025. The same independence that produced a pro-creator AI report is what H.R. 6028 would place under direct political appointment, just as new AI protections like the NO FAKES Act move through Congress.
What independent creators can do
- Support the NO FAKES Act, and the office that enforces it. Ask your senators to protect both the law and the Copyright Office's independence.
- Contact your senators on H.R. 6028. Tell them you're a creator and you want these Copyright Office provisions to get proper hearings before any vote.
- Register your copyrights. Registration at copyright.gov is the foundation for enforcement and statutory damages.
- Document your voice and catalog. Clear records of your original work strengthen any future likeness or replica claim.
The bottom line
The NO FAKES Act decides what protection you have. H.R. 6028 decides who controls how that protection is enforced. Creators should be watching both.
For the full breakdown of how H.R. 6028 restructures the Copyright Office, read the creator briefing.
This update is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Sources: Congress.gov; U.S. Copyright Office (May 2025 AI report); reporting on the NO FAKES Act (2024-2025).