Historical Development of Copyright law in India: From Printing Press to the Digital Age, An Analysis

The evolution of the copyright law throughout history has been based on the consecutive technological breakthroughs that have provided the balance between the incentives that are given to the creator and the interests of the population to gain access to knowledge. Since the introduction of the printing press and the emergence of digital technologies, copyright regimes have been changed to adapt to the new reproduction and dissemination techniques. The development of artificial intelligence, though, presents a qualitatively new difficulty, as AI systems are capable of creating creative products with minimal or no direct human influence. The following paper explores the historical course of copyright legislation, questions the theoretical basis of the law, and determines the sufficiency of existing legal frameworks in the context of AI-generated works. In the comparative, jurisdictional analysis that has been carried out including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and India the article reveals that modern copyright law is still essentially human-centric. It supports a measured evolutionary humanistic approach which respects the principle of copyright and redresses regulatory gaps created by artificial intelligence.