India: AI Royalty Proposal

India is considering a new royalty system where AI companies, including OpenAI and Google, would compensate content creators for using copyrighted material to train their AI models. The proposal suggests a centralised royalty system, a shift from the 'fair use' approach prevalent in the United States. A government panel, formed in April, suggests AI firms should pay royalties to a central body representing copyright holders, while still having access to Indian content for training.

This initiative aims to resolve copyright conflicts arising from AI models using large-scale data. Unlike the US, where training on publicly available content is considered permissible, India's framework resembles a regulated licensing environment. The Indian panel dismissed the EU's opt-out system, deeming it ineffective, and instead proposes a system where creators can claim revenue from a collective fund if their content is used. Industry faces a 30-day challenge period before government officials review the plan.

Nasscom, a tech industry body, has expressed concerns, viewing the mandatory fee as a 'tax on innovation'. The Motion Picture Association has advocated for maintaining the current copyright law and focusing on licensing. The proposed framework includes a 'one nation, one licence, one payment' model, granting LLM developers access to copyrighted content while ensuring fair compensation for creators.