Creative Industry Leaders Challenge AI Copyright Plan in NITI Aayog Roundtable

The roundtable was held in the presence of Sanjeev Sanyal, Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (EAC-PM), and was led by Supirya Suri, Founder, Creative Economy Forum and Film Producer and Director.

Key participants included Supriya Yarlagadda- Executive Director, Annapurna Studios, Sanjay Wadhwa- Managing Partner, AP International, Hiren Gada- CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment, Trevor Fernandes -Senior Vice President & Deputy Managing Director, Motion Picture Association, Uday Singh- Managing Director, MPA-India, Nitin Tej Ahuja-CEO, Producers Guild of India, Blaise Fernandes -President & CEO, Indian Music Industry (IMI), K Aravamudhan - Executive Vice President, JioStar, as per the press release.

The roundtable follows the Working Paper on Generative AI and Copyright (Part I) released by DPIIT in December 2025, titled 'One Nation One License One Payment', which proposed a mandatory blanket licensing framework for the use of copyrighted works in AI training. Today's session, titled 'Generative AI, Copyright and Intellectual Property: Safeguarding Creativity in the Digital Age', provided a structured opportunity for creative industry stakeholders to present their concerns directly to Sanjeev Sanyal and seek his guidance on the path forward.

Participants collectively presented the following concerns with the DPIIT's proposed mandatory licensing model, as per the press release.

Replacement of Voluntary Licensing: The existing voluntary, market-based licensing model allows rights holders to negotiate the value of their works, retain the right to withhold consent, and tailor licensing terms. The proposed mandatory blanket license would eliminate this foundational right, effectively compelling rights holders to license their works to AI developers without consent or fair negotiation.

Violation of Economic Principles and Constitutional Rights: Mandatory licensing with government-determined rates undermines price discovery through market mechanisms and potentially infringes upon rights guaranteed under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution, including the right to trade and freedom of expression.

Inadequate Representation of the Creative Sector: The DPIIT Committee that produced the Working Paper did not include representatives from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or from regional and local creative industry stakeholders, structurally skewing its recommendations in favour of AI developers.

Risk of Arbitrary Royalty Outcomes: A government-appointed Rate Setting Committee determining flat royalty rates is ill-equipped to equitably compensate the diversity of rights holders, from major studios investing hundreds of crores to individual creators, and is poorly designed to track the rapid evolution of AI business models.

Inconsistency with India's AI Strategy and International Obligations: The proposed framework conflicts with India's people-centric #AIforAll strategy, contradicts the consent-based approach of platforms like AIKosh, and is at odds with India's obligations under the Berne Convention, TRIPS, and the WIPO Copyright Treaty.

Brand Safety and Child Protection Risks: Stripping rights holders of the ability to set safety conditions on the use of their intellectual property creates risks of misuse of branded characters and creative content, with potential harm to children and vulnerable audiences.

The industry, noting that the global AI training dataset licensing market reached approximately USD 2.62 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 18.5 billion by 2034, emphasised that voluntary licensing is not a barrier to AI development but rather the most effective and legally sound mechanism for ensuring both innovation and creator rights.

Sixteen major industry associations from across India's media and entertainment sector, including the Producers Guild of India, Indian Music Industry (IMI), Motion Picture Association (MPA-India), Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), Film Federation of India (FFI) presented a framework built on three core principles: Consent, requiring prior permission as the default for use of copyrighted works in AI training; Credit, ensuring transparency and accountability in how AI developers disclose and attribute the sources of training data; and Compensation, guaranteeing that rights holders receive fair market-determined remuneration for the use of their works, through voluntary licensing arrangements rather than centrally mandated rates.

- ANI