Digital Horizon for Royalties: India's Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2025

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) unveiled the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2025, in June, proposing significant changes to royalty collection for certain creative works. This move signals India's intent to further digitize its intellectual property framework and enhance transparency in the copyright ecosystem.

The most notable amendment introduces a new Rule 83(A). This proposed rule mandates that owners or licensors of literary works, musical works, and sound recordings must establish and maintain an exclusive online payment mechanism for collecting license fees when these works are communicated to the public. Critically, the draft explicitly states that no alternative method of payment, such as cash or cheques, will be permitted for these transactions.

This proposed mandatory online payment system aims to address several long-standing challenges in copyright administration:

1. Enhanced Transparency: Digitization inherently creates a traceable record of transactions. This will significantly improve transparency in royalty collection and distribution, reducing disputes and ensuring that creators receive their rightful dues.

   
   

2. Efficiency and Accessibility: An online system streamlines the payment process for both licensors and licensees.This greater efficiency can benefit creators across India, especially those in remote areas, by simplifying access to and management of their royalty streams.

   
   

3. Reducing Leakage and Undereporting: By making online payment mandatory, the government aims to curb unreported or underreported usage of copyrighted works, fostering a more equitable system where artists and rightsholders are more accurately compensated.

   
   

4. Aligning with the Digital Economy: This amendment aligns India's copyright regime with the realities of the digital economy, where consumption and licensing of creative content increasingly occur online. It reflects a proactive step to modernize regulatory frameworks in sync with technological advancements.

The public consultation period for these draft rules concluded in early July 2025, with stakeholders providing feedback on the implications of this digital shift. If enacted, these amendments will represent a pivotal step towards a more transparent, efficient, and equitable royalty collection system for India's vibrant creative industries. This move underscores the government's commitment to strengthening the economic rights of creators in the digital era.