Music labels’ copyright fight reflects broader challenges with Open AI

The copyright suit filed by top music labels such as Saregama, T-Series and Sony, concerned about the unauthorized use of their sound recordings by Microsoft-backed Open AI, reflects the broader challenges posed to India’s music business. OpenAI’s use of copyrighted music strikes at the very heart of intellectual property rights administration, and without proper authorization from content or copyright owners, clearly has significant legal implications across various industries. “Content owners would contend that the unchecked proliferation of AI vis-à-vis utilization of copyrighted works without authorization or licensing could lead to an irreversible devaluation of their intellectual property, as the widespread, unlicensed use of their work diminishes its exclusivity and market value," Chattopadhyay said. Zubin Morris, partner at Little & Co., said the primary ethical concern is that music labels and artists have not given explicit permission for their work to be used for AI training. The main fear is loss of employment and opportunities for human creators since music produced by AI reduces demand for composers, lyricists, and performers and directs demand towards quick engineers instead of artists, Kanakia said.