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India Proposes Mandatory AI-Training Royalties as Nasscom Lodges Formal Dissent

The DPIIT plan grants blanket access to lawfully obtained works with royalties due only once AI systems are commercialized.

Overview

  • Under a DPIIT committee working paper, AI developers would receive a compulsory blanket licence to train on any lawfully accessed copyrighted content.
  • Royalties would be a flat percentage of commercial revenue set by a government-appointed rate committee and subject to judicial review.
  • The proposal creates a central nonprofit, the Copyright Royalties Collective for AI Training (CRCAT), to collect and distribute payments and run a sectoral Works Database.
  • Rights holders could not opt out of training use, and only registered works would be eligible for payouts, with limited developer disclosures via a Training Data Disclosure form.
  • Nasscom and major tech firms have formally objected, urging TDM allowances and warning of technical traceability limits, higher costs for startups, and enforcement challenges including retroactive liabilities.