Preventing Abuse of Digital Replicas Act

This legislation seeks to clarify and strengthen federal trademark law concerning the unauthorized commercial use of AI-generated digital replicas of individuals. Congress acknowledges the significant benefits of artificial intelligence but also highlights the risks posed by "deepfakes" that falsely imply endorsements, causing harm to individuals' reputations and misleading consumers. The bill amends Section 43(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946 to establish a rebuttable presumption of confusion when a digital replica is used in commerce on or with goods or services, provided the claimant invokes it. A "digital replica" is specifically defined as a computer-generated representation that is identical or substantially indistinguishable from a living individual's distinctive image, voice, or likeness, where the clear purpose is to duplicate that characteristic. Crucially, this presumption does not apply to claims of indirect liability, uses within expressive works or their promotional materials, or uses protected by the First Amendment . The Act also includes a preemption clause, limiting other legal remedies if the presumption is invoked, and clarifies that this section is considered an intellectual property law for platform liability purposes under the Communications Act.