Hollywood, Bollywood groups lobby Indian panel to protect content from AI models

The papers reveal that Hollywood and Bollywood groups are lobbying an Indian panel for stricter copyright protection that would prevent artificial intelligence firms from using their intellectual property to train AI models.

AI companies continue to clash with content owners globally and governments are increasingly developing regulations that govern the new technology. While Japan gives AI firms wide latitude in using copyrighted material, the European Union has strict rules that allow content owners to opt out of such use.

The film industry is particularly concerned that AI tools could scrape their copyrighted videos, images and clips online, like trailers and promos, and more seriously include pirated content on their platforms. India’s current copyright law does not take into account uses by AI. The government this year set up a panel consisting of lawyers, government officials and industry executives to review whether the existing copyright law is adequate to deal with AI-related disputes, and make recommendations.

The Motion Picture Association (MPA), which represents Warner Bros., Paramount and Netflix, and the Producers Guild of India have argued that India should not tinker with its copyright law and instead promote a licensing regime. In response to the panel’s private inquiry on why India should not allow broader training exceptions to promote AI innovation, Uday Singh, managing director of MPA India, said in an August 2 letter that the move “could weaken incentives to create new works and erode copyright protection in India.”

“Licensing of copyrighted works is essential for the revenue and business sustainability of producers,” Indian Guild CEO Nitin Tej Ahuja told the panel in his letter.

The MPA declined to comment, while the guild did not respond to Reuters questions on the letters, which are not public.

Indian commerce ministry official Himani Pandey, who chairs the panel, did not respond to Reuters questions. A source with direct knowledge said the panel is finalizing its recommendations, which it will present to senior officials in the coming weeks.

India has one of the most vibrant film industries in the world. A Deloitte-MPA study in May said India’s film, TV and online content industry generated revenue of $13.1 billion last year, growing 18% every year since 2019. The deliberations come as a Bollywood couple has gone to court to challenge YouTube’s AI policies after their doctored videos started spreading online.

The film studios’ position contrasts with that of the Business Software Alliance, which represents AI firms like OpenAI, and which argued in public submissions in July that New Delhi should ensure exceptions are made to allow legitimate AI use. However, MPA members are concerned.

The association said India should not consider allowing the use of content in AI models with an opt-out system as it would burden film studios with responsibility, a move that could force them to track individuals and stop sharing their work across multiple AI platforms.

MPA India said such exceptions would “hinder future investment in the development of high-quality local content.” In September, Warner sued AI service MidJourney in Los Angeles, saying it brazenly stole the studio’s works to create images and videos of Batman, Superman, Bugs Bunny and other copyrighted characters.

MidJourney equates the way it trains its AI models to fair use.