DPIIT panel to release second AI-copyright paper soon; eyes three-year reform horizon

The group was set up on April 28, 2025, by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)

The government committee studying how artificial intelligence interacts with India’s copyright law expects to release its second working paper in roughly two months, a senior official said on December 11.

This paper will focus on whether AI-generated outputs qualify for copyright protection and how authorship should be understood when machines are involved.

The group was set up on April 28, 2025, by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). It is chaired by Himani Pande, an additional secretary in the department and includes lawyers, academics and industry representatives.

The committee's remit includes identifying where AI systems collide with copyright rules, examining whether the current law can accommodate those problems, and suggesting changes if needed.

Speaking to reporters, Pande said the forthcoming paper would look at “copyrightability of AI-generated content, and its authorship. How transformative AI work is.”

The analysis will build on the committee’s earlier document, published on December 8, which has already become a talking point among creators, publishers and AI companies.

That first paper proposes giving AI developers a mandatory blanket licence to use all legally accessed copyrighted works for training their models.

Instead of seeking case-by-case permission, developers would pay remuneration, with copyright societies responsible for distributing royalties to creators. DPIIT has opened the paper for public comment.

One issue that has surfaced is whether copyright societies can handle the volume and complexity of payments that might arise under a compulsory licensing system.

A senior official said the expectation is that distribution will be faster than many fear.

The official also said the proposed framework, if accepted, would have an outer limit of three years to be translated into law.

The timeline covers the entire policy cycle - drafting of rules, stakeholder consultations, inter-ministerial discussions, and parliamentary processes.

While the committee expects the process to move faster, the three-year horizon is meant to give the government room to build consensus around what would be one of the most significant updates to India’s copyright regime in years.