Amid increasing global concerns over the use of copyrighted content to train artificial intelligence (AI) models, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) has welcomed the Centre’s initiative to examine the intersection of AI technologies and copyright law.

The initiative, led by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, aims to gather feedback from stakeholders and assess how existing copyright frameworks apply to the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

In a public statement, the DNPA said it “firmly believes that utilising the content of digital news publishers, without consent, for AI training and subsequent generative AI applications, such as search assistance and information purposes, constitutes an infringement of copyright.”

The association, which represents several prominent digital news media organisations in India, has called for a regulatory framework that ensures fair compensation to content producers whose material is being used to train generative AI models.

“Any government initiative to ensure fair play is vital for the growth of digital news media in the country,” the DNPA stated, expressing its intent to work closely with the Ministry in shaping a “fair and balanced regime.”

The group highlighted that the protection of content rights is critical at a time when large language models and AI-driven search platforms are increasingly reliant on journalistic material, often without attribution or remuneration.

“DNPA looks forward to working with the Ministry to formulate a fair and balanced regime that allows for fair compensation for content producers while allowing for AI models to build and evolve,” the statement added.

The issue of how AI models use publicly available content, especially journalism and long-form reporting, has become a global flashpoint.

Several international news organisations and creative industry bodies have raised similar concerns in recent months, prompting discussions in legislative and regulatory circles about how best to protect intellectual property in the age of machine learning.