New Delhi, Dec 9 (NationPress) The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has unveiled the initial segment of its working document regarding India's strategy for tackling copyright issues posed by generative artificial intelligence, as announced by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Tuesday.

This document stems from recommendations made by an eight-member committee established on April 28, tasked with evaluating whether existing copyright legislation suffices and proposing necessary amendments.

The working paper examines various international strategies, including comprehensive exemptions for AI training, text-and-data-mining exceptions with optional opt-out provisions, voluntary licensing arrangements, and extended collective licensing.

After thorough analysis, the committee determined that none of these frameworks adequately fulfill India’s requirements to safeguard creators while fostering innovation in AI.

The committee also dismissed the concept of a “zero-price licence” that would permit AI developers unrestricted use of all content without remuneration.

It cautioned that such a model could undermine incentives for human creativity and potentially result in a reduction of high-quality human-generated works.

Instead, the working paper introduces a hybrid policy model. Under this framework, AI developers would obtain a blanket licence to utilize any lawfully accessed content for training their systems, eliminating the need for individual permissions or negotiations.

Royalties would be required only when these AI tools are commercially released. The rates for these royalties would be determined by a committee appointed by the government and would be subject to judicial review.

A centralized system would be established to manage the collection and distribution of these royalties. The committee believes this approach would minimize legal and administrative hurdles, ensure fairness for creators, and simplify compliance for both large and small AI developers.

The paper also recognizes the invaluable contributions of Dr. Raghavendra Rao, whose assistance was crucial in drafting the document.

Committee members received support from D. Sripriya, Mr. Kushal Wadhawan, and Ms. Priyanka Arora in compiling the draft.

With the release of Part 1 of the working paper, DPIIT has initiated public consultation on these proposals.

Stakeholders and the general public are invited to submit their feedback over the next 30 days, contributing to the shaping of India’s future approach to AI and copyright.