Hollywood and Bollywood film associations are urging an Indian government panel to tighten copyright rules that would prevent artificial intelligence companies from using their creative works to train AI models, according to official letters. The request comes amid growing global disputes between AI firms and content owners, as governments work to set clear rules for the fast-evolving technology. While Japan allows AI companies broad freedom to use copyrighted material, the European Union has implemented stricter regulations that let creators opt out.
The film industry fears that AI systems could scrape copyrighted videos, images, and clips from online platforms, including trailers and promotional material, and even use pirated content for training. India’s existing copyright law does not address the use of material by AI. Earlier this year, the government formed a panel comprising lawyers, officials, and industry experts to examine whether the current legal framework is sufficient and to recommend updates.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents Warner Bros, Paramount, and Netflix, along with the Producers Guild of India, has argued against altering India’s copyright law. Instead, they have suggested promoting a licensing system. In a letter dated August 2, MPA India Managing Director Uday Singh wrote that granting AI companies blanket training rights could “undermine the incentive to create new works and erode copyright protection in India.”
Nitin Tej Ahuja, CEO of the Producers Guild of India, also told the panel that “licensing copyrighted works is essential for creators’ revenue and business sustainability.”
The panel, chaired by commerce ministry official Himani Pande, is finalising its recommendations and will soon present them to senior government officials.
India’s entertainment industry is among the world’s largest. A Deloitte-MPA report in May estimated that India’s film, television, and online content sector generated $13.1 billion in revenue last year, growing 18 per cent annually since 2019. The discussions come as a Bollywood couple recently took legal action against YouTube’s AI policies after manipulated videos of them went viral online.
In contrast, the Business Software Alliance, representing AI companies such as OpenAI, has urged India to create exceptions allowing the lawful use of copyrighted content for AI training. However, the MPA maintains that allowing such use through an opt-out system would unfairly burden film studios with monitoring and blocking their content across multiple AI platforms.
The MPA has warned that such measures “would hinder future investments, development of high-quality local content.” In September, Warner filed a lawsuit against AI firm Midjourney in Los Angeles, accusing it of using copyrighted works to generate images and videos of characters such as Batman, Superman, and Bugs Bunny. Midjourney has claimed its training practices qualify as fair use.
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