[Answered] The advent of generative AI has brought forth a “copyright conundrum,” particularly in the Indian context. Analyze the key challenges that generative AI poses to India’s existing copyright framework, with specific reference to issues of authorship, ownership, and fair use. Discuss how these challenges could affect creative industries and technological innovation in India, and suggest suitable legal and policy interventions.

Introduction

Generative AI (GenAI), capable of producing text, images, music, and other creative outputs, has raised fundamental questions about intellectual property rights. In India, the existing copyright framework under the Copyright Act, 1957, crafted in a pre-AI era, struggles to address the emerging complexities of authorship, ownership, and fair use in AI-generated works. This “copyright conundrum” poses significant implications for India’s creative industries and innovation landscape.

Challenges to India’s Copyright Framework

1. Authorship Dilemma: Under Section 2(d) of the Copyright Act, 1957, “author” refers to a human creator. However, AI models like ChatGPT or Midjourney autonomously generate content, raising the question—can non-human entities be authors? Indian law, unlike jurisdictions like the UK (where the author of computer-generated works is the person who made arrangements), has no explicit provision for AI-generated works, creating legal uncertainty.
2. Ownership Ambiguity: Even if the AI user is considered the “author,” it is unclear whether they own the copyright, especially when the content is generated based on training data they neither curated nor own. Platforms hosting GenAI tools (e.g., OpenAI, Adobe Firefly) may claim rights over outputs, leading to conflict between users, developers, and content platforms.
3. Fair Use and Training Data: Generative AI models are trained on vast datasets scraped from the internet, including copyrighted materials, often without consent. India’s “fair dealing” clause (Section 52) allows limited uses (criticism, review, research), but it does not explicitly cover data scraping for AI training. This raises potential violation of copyright, especially when outputs mimic the style or substance of original creators, as seen in global lawsuits (e.g., Getty Images v. Stability AI).

Impacts on Creative and Innovation Sectors

1. Creative Industries: Artists, writers, musicians face the threat of devaluation of their work as AI can generate imitative or derivative works rapidly. There is a loss of attribution, credit, and income, particularly for creators whose work is used in training data without permission.
2. Innovation Ecosystem: Startups leveraging GenAI tools face legal uncertainty over the use and monetization of AI-generated content. The fear of infringing copyright could stifle research, hamper AI entrepreneurship, and deter foreign investment in India’s digital innovation landscape.

Way Forward: Legal and Policy Interventions

1. Amend the Copyright Act, 1957: Define AI-generated works and clarify authorship/ownership. Introduce provisions similar to Section 9(3) of the UK Act where the author is the person who made arrangements for generation.
2. Establish Licensing Frameworks for Training Data: Develop compulsory or voluntary licensing models for training datasets, ensuring creator remuneration and transparency.
3. Develop Fair Use Guidelines for AI: Expand the scope of fair dealing to include data mining and model training under reasonable limits.
4. Promote Copyright-Respecting AI Tools: Encourage development of GenAI platforms trained on licensed or open-access data (e.g., Adobe Firefly model).
5. Institutional Reforms: Empower bodies like Copyright Office and DPIIT to issue guidelines, model contracts, and resolve disputes in AI copyright cases.

Conclusion

India stands at the cusp of an AI-driven creative revolution. However, without timely legal reform, generative AI could undermine both artistic integrity and technological progress. A balanced copyright regime that protects creators while fostering AI innovation is essential to ensure India’s leadership in the global digital economy.