Copyright clarity in India: AI developers require permission for commercial AI models

Industry Watch | February 19, 2024 | News

Artificial Intelligence AI models

Amidst continuing global discussions and legal disputes regarding the unapproved utilization of copyrighted content for training artificial intelligence (AI) models, the Indian government has issued a definitive statement: AI developers are required to obtain consent before employing copyrighted materials, particularly for commercial endeavors.

Responding to inquiries from the upper house of the Indian Parliament, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash, issued a statement underscoring that the current intellectual property legislation in India adequately encompasses advancements in AI and the utilization of copyrighted materials for AI model training.

“The exclusive economic rights of a copyright owner, granted by the Copyright Act, 1957, obligate the user of Generative AI to obtain permission to use their works for commercial purposes if such use is not covered under the fair dealing exceptions provided under Section 52 of the Copyright Act,” reads the statement issued on February 9.

The Indian Music Industry (IMI), representing the country’s recorded music industry, welcomed the government’s stance. IMI President and CEO Blaise Fernandes expressed gratitude for the clarification.

In India, as in many other countries, the unauthorized utilization of copyrighted content by AI developers has emerged as a significant worry for intellectual property holders. In January, an association representing newspaper publishers reached out to several government ministries, requesting safeguards against copyright infringements by AI developers.

Digital News Publishers Association Secretary General Sujata Gupta highlighted the need for fair and transparent practices, emphasizing the opportunity to ensure that companies or large language models (LLMs) use data ethically while compensating the sources from which they derive content or data to train their models.

It’s important to note that India’s stance on AI and copyright may not align with other jurisdictions. Legal experts point out that India’s ‘fair dealing’ exceptions to copyright law are narrower than the ‘fair use’ exceptions in US law.

The Indian government has issued a definitive statement: AI developers are required to obtain consent before employing copyrighted materials, particularly for commercial endeavors.

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