Extension of Public Consultation

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has officially extended the public consultation period regarding the intersection of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and copyright law. Stakeholders now have until February 6, 2026, to submit their responses. The consultation, which was originally scheduled for a 30-day window starting December 9, 2025, follows the release of a working paper that outlines the government's preliminary strategy for regulating AI model training and commercialisation.

The Proposed Framework: Hybrid Licensing and Royalties

The working paper under review proposes a significant shift in how AI companies interact with copyrighted material in India. Key proposals include:

• Rejection of Zero-Price Licensing: The framework explicitly rejects the concept of allowing AI companies unrestricted, free use of copyrighted works, arguing that this would weaken incentives for human creativity.

• Hybrid Licensing Model: Instead, it suggests a "blanket license" system where AI developers can access lawfully available content for training purposes, with royalty obligations triggered only upon the commercialisation of the AI model.

• Revenue-Based Royalties: The proposal recommends that a government-appointed committee prescribe royalty rates calculated as a percentage of an AI company's global revenue.

• Retroactive Application: The framework also considers making these fees retroactive, potentially requiring companies to pay for data used to train models in the past.
  

Conclusion

The DPIIT's decision to extend the deadline signals a commitment to widening participation from industry experts and creators on a policy with profound implications for India's digital economy. By moving toward a centralised collection mechanism and rejecting free data scraping, the government aims to strike a difficult balance: facilitating data access for AI innovation while ensuring a sustainable compensation ecosystem for content creators.