Welch, Blackburn Lead Bipartisan Legislation to Empower Visual Artists to Protect Their Work

Dec 18, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.)andMarsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.),members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, this week introduced theVisual Artists Copyright Reform Act (VACRA), bipartisan legislation to modernize copyright registration for visual artists to make it easier and less costly for high-volume visual artists to register and protect their works.
“Vermont’s visual creators make significant contributions to our country, and their work should be protected. But visual artists often struggle to protect the authenticity of their work because of the unique challenges facing high-volume artists,”said Senator Welch. “We’re working to modernize copyright processes and safeguard the creativity of visual artists.”
“Visual artists produce incredible work that deserves to be protected, but current copyright law has fallen short,”said Senator Blackburn.“TheVisual Artists Copyright Reform Actwould modernize copyright registration so creators like photographers, illustrators, and graphic artists can protect their work and enforce their rights. This bill would fix a broken system by cutting unnecessary costs and bureaucracy, helping America’s creative community thrive.”
TheCopyright Actof 1976offers the promise that copyrightable works are automatically protected the instant they are created. However, those rights cannot be enforced unless each work is registered with the Copyright Office. The registration process is so complicated that the time and expense of compliance is too high for high-volume creators like photographers, illustrators, and graphic artists. We are committed to working with the Copyright Office to address these shortcomings.
TheVisual Artists Copyright Reform Actwould:
TheVisual Artists Copyright Reform Actis endorsed by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and the Professional Photographers of America.
Senator Welch has led efforts to protect creator content in the Senate. This summer, Sens. Welch and Blackburn reintroduced their bipartisanTransparency and Responsibility for Artificial Intelligence Networks (TRAIN) Act, legislation to help musicians, artists, writers, and others access the courts to protect their copyrighted works if and when they are used to train generative AI models. Learn more about theTRAIN Acthere.
Learn moreabout theVisual Artists Copyright Reform Act.
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