Publishers that maintain clear records, adopt carefully drafted AI-specific provisions and require transparent disclosure of AI use will be better placed to manage legal and commercial risks, as the copyright framework around artificial intelligence continues to evolve, a report said on Monday.The report titled 'Copyright In The AI Age', jointly developed by SS Rana & Co and Ficci, said the framework governing AI and copyright will continue to develop in India and elsewhere through the combined work of courts, regulators and industry rather than through any single decisive event."Litigation on AI training and copyright remains pending in India and elsewhere, and the applicable principles are still being worked out through that process. In this environment, practical governance matters more, not less."Publishers who maintain clear records, adopt carefully drafted AI-specific provisions, and require transparent disclosure of AI use will be better placed to manage legal and commercial risk while the framework develops, and will generate the kind of practical experience that informs sound policy," the report stated.These measures cannot resolve the underlying legal questions. They can, however, provide certainty and accountability in the interim, it added.The report said publishers need to implement practical governance measures even as courts and regulators continue to work out the legal principles governing AI training and copyright.It said the opportunities offered by generative AI to publishers, including greater efficiency, discoverability and new licensing revenue, are best realised alongside sustained attention to their implications for creators' rights and research integrity.The report's observations come at a time when publishers and authors are increasingly incorporating AI into various stages of the editorial and production process, raising fresh questions over authorship, copyright and transparency.Sarah Nassar, Associate Program Officer, World Intellectual Property Organization, said publishers and authors are increasingly relying on AI in the editing and production process, using it for drafting purposes and copy-editing support.This, she said, raises the question about how the publishing chain uses AI and what it exposes."If you have fully AI-generated books that are entering the market, the question is about whether and how copyright applies to the output, if at all," Nassar said.The practical question that a publisher now has to ask is how much of a manuscript actually reflects the author's own creative choices and how much reflects a tool's output, she observed.The issue is particularly relevant as publishers seek to balance the potential efficiency gains from generative AI with the need to protect creators' rights and maintain research integrity.Geetha Vani Rayasam, Director, CSIR-NIScPR, informed that India is now number 3 in the world in scientific publications.The report said that as the legal framework develops, publishers' internal practices could provide greater certainty and accountability while also generating practical experience that could help inform future policy.Published on August 10, 2026