Who owns an AI-generated ad in India? What your contract should say

This is a production studio’s view of how to contract sensibly. It isn’t legal advice. For a large campaign or a regulated category, have a lawyer read the agreement.

Who owns an AI ad made by Spilanth Studio?

You do. Full commercial rights to the finished ad, including the master files and every format we deliver, pass to your brand in writing on final payment. You can run it on Meta, YouTube, TV, OTT and outdoor screens with no time limit. The details are in our terms.

What does Indian copyright law say about AI-generated work?

India’s Copyright Act, 1957 already has a line about computer-generated work. Section 2(d)(vi) says that for a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work that is computer-generated, the author is “the person who causes the work to be created”. The provision was added in 1994, long before generative AI.

What did India’s Copyright Office decide about AI authorship?

An AI system can’t be the author of a work under Indian copyright law, but a work made with AI can still be protected, with a person named as its author. That is the effect of an order dated 31 August 2026 by the Registrar of Copyrights, Prof. (Dr) Unnat P. Pandit.

The application named an AI system called DABUS as the author of an artwork, “A Recent Entrance to Paradise”. The Office found the artwork original enough to qualify for copyright. It refused DABUS as author, because an AI system isn’t a person the law recognises, and held that Dr Stephen Thaler, who built and configured DABUS and supplied its inputs, was the person who caused the work to be created. The application was rejected only because Dr Thaler kept naming DABUS as the author.

What the order doesn’t settle matters just as much for an ad. It decided one case. It doesn’t say how authorship splits when several people shape an AI ad: the person who wrote the prompts, the director who picked the shots, the editor, the brand that approved the script. That is why the contract between you and the studio does the real work.

Why does the assignment need to be in writing?

Section 19 of the Copyright Act says an assignment of copyright isn’t valid unless it’s in writing, and that it should identify the work and specify the rights, the duration and the territory.

The detail most people miss is what happens when those last two are left out. If the period isn’t stated, the assignment is deemed to last five years. If the territory isn’t specified, it’s presumed to extend only within India. Ask for perpetual and worldwide in writing, if that’s what you’re paying for.

What should transfer to your brand?

• The master files. Full-resolution masters, not just a compressed social export.
• Every variant made for you. Each aspect ratio and cut-down produced during the project.
• Commercial use without limits. Paid and organic channels, no time limit, no per-channel fee.
• Clarity on music. A licensed track can carry its own limits on time, territory and channel even when the film is fully yours.
• The right to re-edit. In house or with another studio.

When should ownership be agreed?

Before production, not at delivery. If the ad is finished, the campaign date is close and the usage terms are still being negotiated, the brand has lost its bargaining power. We confirm scope, deliverables, revision rounds and usage terms in writing before anything is generated.

What should you ask any studio before you sign?

• Does full commercial ownership transfer to us, and exactly when?
• Is the assignment perpetual and worldwide, and does the agreement say so?
• Are there channel restrictions, especially for TV, OTT and paid social?
• Is the music original or licensed, and on what terms?
• Do we get master files or only exports, and in which ratios?
• If a generated person appears, what covers that likeness?
• Can we re-edit the ad later, in house or with someone else?

Is disclosure the same as ownership?

No. Owning an ad doesn’t settle how it has to be labelled. Read do AI ads need a label in India? for ASCI’s rules. Our own rule is simple: a generated presenter is never passed off as a real customer.

Frequently asked questions