According to the committee’s recommendations, this licence should include a statutory remuneration right for copyright holders.
These proposals are contained in a working paper crafted by the committee and published by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), seeking feedback from stakeholders.
Acknowledging the increasing necessity for discussions on emerging issues related to AI systems and copyright, the DPIIT established a committee on April 28, 2025.
This eight-member panel is chaired by additional secretary Himani Pande and includes legal experts as well as representatives from the industry and academia.
The committee was assigned to identify challenges posed by AI systems, evaluate the existing regulatory framework, assess its sufficiency, recommend modifications as needed, and prepare a working paper for stakeholder consultation.
The initial part of the working paper was made publicly available by the department on December 8 and it seeks input from all relevant stakeholders within a 30-day period.
“With a consensus view, the committee opted to endorse a mandatory blanket licence for AI developers, allowing the use of all legally accessed copyright-protected works in training AI systems, along with a statutory remuneration right for copyright holders,” the paper indicated.
Under this proposed framework, rights holders would not have the option to prevent their works from being utilized in the training of AI systems.
“The copyright owners’ right to receive royalties will be managed through a single umbrella organization created by the rights holders, designated by the government. This model aims to simplify access to content for AI developers, streamline licensing processes, lower transaction costs, and guarantee fair compensation for rights holders,” it continued.
This hybrid model also provides a one-stop solution for AI developers to access copyrighted works for AI training.
The paper emphasizes that generative AI holds significant potential for positively transforming the world, highlighting the importance of a regulatory environment that fosters its development.
Nevertheless, the methods through which AI systems are trained—often involving copyrighted materials without authorization from copyright holders—and the nature of the outputs they produce have ignited a critical debate surrounding copyright law.
It pointed out that the main challenge is to protect the copyright of the original human-created works without hindering technological progress.
“To tackle this, a balanced regulatory framework is essential to maintain the integrity of the country’s creative ecosystem while promoting AI innovation,” it stated.
Moreover, the committee acknowledged that access to large volumes of high-quality data is vital for AI development.
Extensive negotiations and high transaction costs can impede innovation, particularly for startups and MSMEs, it added.
The panel has resolved to adopt a hybrid approach that guarantees the availability of all legally accessed copyrighted content for AI training as a right, alleviating the need for individual negotiations; cutting down transaction costs; and reducing the compliance burden for developers.
It has proposed equitable compensation for copyright holders; judicial oversight on established royalty rates; a straightforward payment process to rights holders; and a level playing field for startups and smaller entities.
