COPYRIGHT REVIEW AMID AI CHALLENGES

Introduction

The rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has transformed creative industries, raising fundamental questions about copyright law’s scope and applicability. AI systems are increasingly capable of generating literary, artistic, musical, and software works autonomously, challenging traditional notions of authorship, originality, and ownership. This article critically examines the concept and importance of copyright protection in India, outlines the process of copyright registration, and explores the emerging challenges AI poses during registration and beyond.

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a legal framework established to preserve authors’ rights over their original works.It grants exclusive legal rights to authors to reproduce, adapt, distribute, and publicly communicate their creations.

Under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957 (hereinafter ‘the Act’),

• Sections 13 and 2(o): copyright subsists in “original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works” and “cinematograph films” and “sound recordings” and computer programmes, tables and compilations, including computer databases, respectively.
• Section 14: The law confers rights such as reproduction, adaptation, translation, and communicating it to the public.
• Section 2(d): The Act defines an “author” as the person who creates the workand protection attaches automatically upon the work’s creation, provided it meets originality criteria.

Originality, central to copyright, traditionally implies a minimum degree of human creativity and intellectual effort.

Relevance of Copyright Protection

Copyright incentivises creativity by granting authors exclusive control over the use and exploitation of their works. It enables economic benefits through licensing and royalties, fosters cultural development, and promotes innovation in creative and technological fields. Copyright also protects moral rights, such as the ability to claim authorship and object to disparaging use of the work.

Copyright Registration in India

Though copyright arises automatically on creation, registration offers valuable legal benefits. Registration creates prima facie evidence of ownership and the validity of copyright, which proves crucial in infringement disputes.(Copyright Act, 1957, s 48)

The registration procedure involves:

• Filing an application with the Copyright Office, accompanied by the work’s copies and proof of ownership.
• Examination by the Registrar to ensure that all statutory criteria/requirements have been met.
• Publication of the work in the Copyright Journal invites objections.
• Resolution of objections, if any, and final registration.

During examination, the Registrar assesses whether the work is original and whether the applicant is the true author or rightful owner. Clear evidence of human authorship and originality is essential to successfully register the work.

In this context, platforms like TMWALA can greatly assist creators by streamlining the copyright registration process, guiding applicants through documentation requirements, submission, and follow-up, even when works involve AI-assisted creation.

Illustration

Suppose an author submits a manuscript of a novel to the Copyright Office for registration. The Registrar verifies whether the manuscript is original and created by the applicant. If the applicant satisfactorily proves authorship and originality, the work is registered, securing the author’s exclusive rights.

Artificial Intelligence and Challenges in Copyright Registration

The advent of AI-generated works complicates established copyright principles. AI tools can produce texts, images, music, or software with minimal or no human creative input. This raises the pivotal question: ‘Who is the author?’

Indian law, as per Section 2(d) of the Act, recognises only natural persons as authors, excluding non-human entities like AI. The absence of human creativity as a prerequisite for originality creates legal uncertainty for AI-generated works.

TMWALA’s expert legal and technical support can help creators and businesses prepare strong copyright applications that clarify human authorship and originality, thereby improving the chances of successful registration despite the complex role of AI.

AI in the Registration Process

Consider a scenario where a user inputs a prompt into an AI language model, which generates a short story. If the user applies for copyright registration of this story, the Registrar faces difficult questions:

• Originality: Can the work be considered original if it is produced by an AI algorithm rather than direct human creativity?
• Authorship: Is the user who provided the prompt the author, or does the AI qualify as author (which the law currently rejects)?
• Proof of Creation: How can the applicant prove authorship when the AI’s contribution is substantial or dominant?

Such challenges may result in the refusal of registration due to unclear authorship or insufficient originality under existing law.

Judicial Perspectives on Authorship and Originality

Indian courts have traditionally considered the “author” as a natural person. They have traditionally upheld that copyright protects the “expression of an ideas,” not the idea itself, resulting from human skill and labour.

In Eastern Book Company v D B Modak (2008) 6 SCC 1, the Supreme Court recognised that copyright protects the expression of ideas originating from a human creator’s skill and labour.

Internationally, the UK Intellectual Property Office rejected copyright in AI-generated works lacking human authorship, but the US Copyright Office has entertained certain computer-assisted works if human authorship is evident. The lack of Indian judicial pronouncements on AI-generated works indicates a legal lacuna needing urgent attention.

EMERGING LEGAL Developments: ANI v OPEN AI

In a landmark case pending before the Delhi High Court, Asian News International (ANI) v OpenAI (2024; ongoing), ANI alleges that OpenAI’s ChatGPT was trained using ANI’s copyrighted news content without authorisation, leading to outputs that closely resemble ANI’s original reports. ANI argues this constitutes infringement under Sections 13, 14, and 51 of the Copyright Act, 1957, and does not fall under any “fair dealing” exception in Section 52.

The case raises pivotal questions for Indian copyright law: whether AI training on copyrighted content amounts to reproduction or adaptation; whether outputs generated by AI infringe existing works; and whether AI-generated content can claim originality under Indian law. ANI relies on the EBC v D.B. Modak precedent to argue that ChatGPT lacks sufficient creativity in its outputs.

OpenAI denies infringement, claiming that its model learns patterns, not content, and that any similarity is coincidental. It also disputes the Delhi High Court’s jurisdiction, asserting a lack of operational presence in India.

The outcome is poised to shape India’s legal stance on AI, copyright, and content ownership in the digital age.

Challenges and Legal Uncertainties

1. Attribution of Authorship

AI-generated works lack a clear ‘author’ under Indian law, which may leave such works outside copyright protection, potentially disincentivising innovation.

2. Originality and Creativity

Originality requires a modicum of creativity and intellectual effort by a human author. AI-generated works, which emerge from programmed algorithms and data analysis, may not meet this threshold.

3. Infringement and Liability

If an AI reproduces copyrighted works during its training, liability for infringement could implicate programmers, users, or AI operators, raising complex questions of secondary liability under Section 51.

4. Economic Rights and Moral Rights

Economic rights (Section 14) and moral rights (Section 57) may not comfortably extend to AI-generated works, especially moral rights that protect personal reputations linked to authors.

Given the evolving nature of copyright in the AI era, TMWALA also offers monitoring and enforcement services to safeguard registered copyrights from infringement and support dispute resolution when complex AI-related issues arise.

Proposed Legal Reforms and Solutions

To address these issues, India could consider the following reforms:

• Statutory Recognition of AI Authorship: Amend the Copyright Act to recognise AI-generated works and define authorship and ownership frameworks accordingly.
• Presumption of Authorship: The programmer or the user initiating the AI-generated work could be deemed the author, as an analogy to ‘work for hire’.
• New Rights Framework: Develop sui generis rights for AI-generated content to protect investments and innovation without full copyright.
• Guidelines on Liability: Clarify secondary liability for AI trainers and operators concerning infringement.

Conclusion

Copyright law plays a crucial role in protecting human creativity and incentivising innovation. However, the rise of AI-generated works disrupts fundamental legal concepts of authorship, originality, and ownership. While India’s Copyright Act, 1957, provides a robust framework for human-created works, it lacks clear provisions to accommodate AI’s transformative impact. The ongoing judicial developments and proposed legislative reforms are vital to ensure that the copyright regime adapts effectively to the digital and AI era, balancing the interests of creators, users, and AI developers.

Partnering with trusted platforms like TMWALA can equip creators and businesses to navigate this complex landscape, ensuring effective copyright protection and management in the face of AI challenges.

Author: Suhani Sharma

Bibliography

Statutes

• Copyright Act, 1957 (India).

Cases

• Eastern Book Company v D B Modak, (2008) 6 SCC 1 (India).

Books & Articles

• P B Hugenholtz, ‘Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: The Next Frontier?’ (2019) 31 European Intellectual Property Review 664.
• Tanya Aplin, ‘AI and Copyright: Who Owns the Output?’ (2020) 42 European Intellectual Property Review 527.
• R Kameshwar Rao, Intellectual Property Law (3rd edn, LexisNexis 2021).

Websites

• Sharma S, ‘How ANI v. OpenAI Could Reshape Indian Copyright Law?’ (J P Associates, 21 May 2025) https://jpassociates.co.in/ani-v-openai-copyright-law/ accessed 29 May 2025.