One nation, one licence - Artificial Intelligence Copyright Licensing

India's Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has proposed a "One Nation, One Licence, One Payment" framework to regulate AI training on copyrighted materials, mandating that all AI developers obtain a blanket licence and pay royalties into a central fund like the Copyright Royalties Collective for AI Training (CRCAT). This statutory model, detailed in a working paper released this week, draws from compulsory licensing precedents and applies even to freely available online content with no opt-out for creators, while including retroactive royalties for past uses. The initiative seeks to balance AI innovation with fair compensation for creators amid stakeholder feedback, though critics like NASSCOM warn it could impose a "tax on innovation" and raise costs for firms.  Read more here.