{"id":77219,"date":"2025-12-10T11:24:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T05:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=77219"},"modified":"2025-12-10T11:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T05:55:14","slug":"one-nation-one-licence-indias-proposed-framework-to-balance-ai-innovation-and-copyright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/one-nation-one-licence-indias-proposed-framework-to-balance-ai-innovation-and-copyright\/","title":{"rendered":"One Nation One Licence &#8211; India\u2019s Proposed Framework to Balance AI Innovation and Copyright"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>One Nation One Licence Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, concerns have intensified over the use of <\/span><b>copyrighted content for AI training <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without consent or remuneration.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Globally, this has triggered litigation, policy debates, and regulatory uncertainty due to intersection of technology, IPR, innovation, and regulation; the role of the State in rate regulation and compulsory licensing.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this backdrop, a Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)-led committee has released a working paper proposing a <\/span><b>statutory licensing framework<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to balance AI innovation with copyright protection in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Key Proposal &#8211; \u2018One Nation, One Licence, One Payment\u2019<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Mandatory blanket licence for AI training:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All AI developers must pay royalties for using copyrighted works in AI training.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No opt-out mechanism for freely available online content.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Model inspired by compulsory licensing in radio broadcasting under Indian copyright law.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Rejection of voluntary licensing:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee rejects bilateral licensing deals (e.g., OpenAI\u2013Associated Press).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Reasons <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">are high transaction costs, unequal bargaining power, and marginalisation of small creators and startups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voluntary licensing is seen as favouring big tech and big publishers only.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Institutional Mechanism &#8211; CRCAT<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new umbrella <\/span><b>non-profit body<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Copyright Royalties Collective for AI Training [CRCAT]) to be established under the<\/span><b> Copyright Act, 1957<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Functions <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of the body include collecting royalties from AI companies, distributing proceeds among copyright holders, etc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Membership<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Only organisations (not individuals), one member per class of work.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coverage can expand gradually to unorganised sectors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Royalty Determination Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Government-appointed rate-setting committee:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Composition<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Senior government officers, legal experts, economic and financial experts, AI and emerging technology experts, AI developers\u2019 and CRCAT representatives.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Powers: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fix fair, transparent, predictable rates; review rates every three years; decisions subject to judicial review.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Likely pricing model:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flat rate preferred initially.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Royalty as a percentage of gross global revenue earned from commercialised AI systems (excluding taxes).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Retroactive Application of Royalties<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Royalties to apply retrospectively: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI developers already using copyrighted works and earning revenue must pay past dues.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Justification:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensures fairness and accountability.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not punitive, but corrective to restore balance in the creative ecosystem.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Transparency and Burden of Proof<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Data disclosure by AI developers:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mandatory submission of a \u2018Sufficiently Detailed Summary\u2019 of datasets used.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Includes:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Type of data (text, image, music, audiovisual)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Source (social media, publications, libraries, public datasets, proprietary data)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nature of data usage<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Distribution of royalties: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CRCAT to distribute funds proportionally based on extent of usage, heavily used categories (news, music, audiovisual) receive higher shares.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Legal presumption: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In litigation, content owners claim it is presumed valid. Burden shifts to AI developers to disprove misuse or non-payment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Stakeholder Responses<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Supporters (Committee view):<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensures non-discriminatory access to training data<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prevents concentration of royalties among a few big players<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creates a predictable legal environment for AI development<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Opponents:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>NASSCOM:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Calls forced royalties a \u201ctax on innovation\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supports opt-out mechanisms for content creators<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Creative industry concerns:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government-fixed rates are globally unprecedented<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fear undervaluation of premium content<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Challenges in the Proposed Framework and Way Forward<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Risk of over-regulation stifling AI innovation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Ensure robust stakeholder consultation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Administrative complexity in royalty distribution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Fine-tune royalty rates to avoid discouraging AI startups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Resistance: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From both AI firms (cost burden) and content creators (flat-rate concerns). Strong judicial oversight to prevent arbitrariness.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>India becoming a global outlier in AI copyright regulation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Harmonisation with global AI governance norms.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s proposed mandatory blanket licensing regime for AI training represents a <\/span><b>bold and interventionist approach <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to reconciling innovation with copyright protection.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By institutionalising royalty payments through a statutory mechanism, the Centre aims to <\/span><b>ensure equitable compensation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for creators while maintaining open access to training data for AI developers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The success of this model will ultimately depend on rate rationality, transparency, and adaptive governance, making it a critical test case for AI regulation in the Global South.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/technology\/dpiit-committee-on-ai-and-copyright-suggests-compromise-position-on-data-mining\/article70375452.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>TH<\/b><\/a><b>\u00a0| <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/india-recommends-ai-firms-to-pay-creator-royalties-at-govt-panel-set-rates-10410785\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>IE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A DPIIT-led committee has proposed a \u201cOne Nation One Licence One Payment\u201d framework for AI training to balance AI innovation with copyright protection in India.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":77227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,4120,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-77219","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-one-nation-one-licence","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}