In a significant legal development, a group of India’s top Bollywood music labels, including T-Series, Saregama, and Sony, are seeking to join a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of improperly using their sound recordings to train its AI models.
The lawsuit, filed in New Delhi, raises concerns about the unauthorized use of music content in AI training, with the music labels claiming that OpenAI’s actions breach copyright laws. The legal challenge comes as OpenAI faces mounting pressure globally, particularly in India, where it has a large user base.
The Indian Music Industry (IMI) group, along with major music labels like T-Series and Saregama India, has asked a New Delhi court to hear their case. They argue that OpenAI has used sound recordings without permission to develop its AI models. This issue, they say, is critical for the music industry not only in India but globally.
OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, asserts that it follows fair-use principles when using publicly available data for training its AI models. However, this defense has not satisfied the Indian music industry, which believes the AI’s ability to extract music compositions, lyrics, and sound recordings from the internet violates their copyrights.
The lawsuit stems from a larger legal push against OpenAI in India, with the ANI news agency also accusing OpenAI’s ChatGPT of using its content without permission. Book publishers, media groups, and high-profile billionaires like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani are also supporting the efforts to challenge the company.
The case is shaping up to be a landmark one for the future of AI and copyright laws in India. It follows a similar suit in Germany, where the GEMA music group has taken legal action against OpenAI for using song lyrics without authorization.
The next hearing for the lawsuit is scheduled for February 21, 2025, and it could determine how AI models in India use copyrighted content moving forward.