The new bill, authored by U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean in the U.S. House, aims to help copyright owners identify use of their works in artificial intelligence model training, according to the U.S. Congress.
H.R.7209 was introduced on Jan. 22, 2026 during the 2026 regular session of the 119th Congress. The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill creates an administrative subpoena process to help copyright owners identify which of their works have been used in training artificial intelligence models. It amends Title 17 of the United States Code to allow copyright holders or their representatives to request subpoenas from U.S. district courts for records related to copyrighted works used by developers in AI model training. Subpoenas can only be issued upon a good faith belief that the copyright works were utilized. The bill outlines details for requesting subpoenas, including a sworn declaration and the requirement for developers to comply expeditiously. It also establishes confidentiality for the information received and includes provisions for sanctions against bad faith requests. The measure is set to take effect upon enactment.
The bill was introduced by Rep. Madeleine Dean (Democrat-PA-4th District) and co-sponsored by Rep. Nathaniel Moran (Republican-PA-1st District).
Since the beginning of the current session, Rep. Dean has introduced another 11 bills.
A related bill, S.2455, was also introduced in the Senate on July 24, 2025. Congressional records list it as an identical companion bill to H.R.7209.
Congressional bills can originate in either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate, except for revenue-related measures, which must begin in the House. After introduction, bills are assigned to committees for review, hearings, amendments and debate before they can advance to a vote in each chamber. If both chambers approve identical versions, the legislation is sent to the president, who may sign it into law or veto it. Congress operates in two-year terms, with each term numbered sequentially and divided into two annual sessions. The legislative process and official bill records are maintained by the U.S. Congress and published through Congress.gov.
Madeleine Dean is a Representative from Pennsylvania, elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress and to three succeeding Congresses, serving since January 3, 2019. She was a member of the Pennsylvania state house of representatives from 2012 to 2018.
Dean graduated from La Salle University with a B.A. in 1981 and earned a J.D. from Widener University Delaware Law School in 1984. She has worked as a lawyer in private practice and served as faculty at La Salle University from 2001 to 2012.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| H.R.7209 | 01/22/2026 | TRAIN Act |
| H.R.6626 | 12/11/2025 | PFAS Accountability Act of 2025 |
| H.R.6434 | 12/04/2025 | Freedom to Heal Act of 2025 |
| H.R.4225 | 06/27/2025 | Protect Children Through Safe Gun Ownership Act |
| H.R.4224 | 06/27/2025 | Background Check Point of Contact Act of 2025 |
| H.R.4223 | 06/27/2025 | Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act |
| H.R.4222 | 06/27/2025 | Fire Sale Loophole Closing Act of 2025 |
| H.R.4221 | 06/27/2025 | Undetectable Firearms Modernization Act |
| H.R.4220 | 06/27/2025 | Gun Violence Prevention Through Financial Intelligence Act |
| H.R.3178 | 05/05/2025 | Save Healthcare Workers Act |
| H.R.2420 | 03/27/2025 | Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 2025 |
| H.R.1673 | 02/27/2025 | To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 28 East Airy Street in Norristown, Pennsylvania, as the “Charles L. Blockson Post Office Building”. |
Information in this article was obtained from the U.S. Congress. The source data can be found here.
