STRASBOURG/NEW DELHI: The European Union has announced a billion-euro initiative to develop domestic artificial intelligence capabilities and reduce its dependence on foreign technologies — a move mirrored by an unfolding battle in India, where Hollywood and Bollywood studios are lobbying for stronger copyright safeguards to stop AI companies from exploiting their creative content.
Though happening continents apart, both developments highlight a shared global anxiety over the unchecked influence of artificial intelligence, as governments race to determine who controls, benefits from, and is protected against the next wave of machine-driven innovation.
In Strasbourg, the European Commission on Wednesday unveiled plans to mobilize €1 billion ($1.6 billion) under its Horizon research program to strengthen Europe’s position in the AI race. The funds will focus on key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, energy, transportation, and defense.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce Europe’s reliance on AI systems developed in the United States and China — countries that currently dominate the global technology landscape.
Brussels said the investment would help create “European AI-powered tools,” including specialized models for autonomous vehicles, advanced cancer screening centers, and other high-tech applications.
“I want the future of AI to be made in Europe,” declared European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “Because when AI is used, we can find smarter, faster, and more affordable solutions.”
The bloc’s technology chief, Henna Virkkunen, said the Commission aims to ensure that 75% of European businesses adopt AI by 2030 — a significant rise from the 13% recorded last year.
“Where possible, companies should prioritize European solutions,” she said, acknowledging, however, that achieving complete independence from foreign AI providers remains a major challenge.
Europe’s updated industrial strategy envisions AI “gigafactories” and a tripling of data center capacity across the continent, positioning it as a credible competitor to Silicon Valley and Beijing’s tech giants.
Yet Brussels also warned that its reliance on external layers of the AI “stack” — infrastructure, software, and data — poses national security risks that could be “weaponized” by foreign actors, threatening Europe’s technological sovereignty.
While Europe works to build its own AI backbone, India faces a different dilemma: how to prevent global AI companies from exploiting the vast archives of copyrighted content produced by its film and entertainment industries.
Letters reviewed by Reuters show that Hollywood and Bollywood associations have urged an Indian government panel to strengthen copyright laws, requiring AI developers to obtain licenses before using films, TV shows, or other creative works for model training.
The Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing studios such as Warner Bros, Paramount, and Netflix, and the Producers Guild of India have jointly warned against weakening existing copyright protections in the name of innovation.
In a letter to the panel in August, MPA India Managing Director Uday Singh cautioned that granting broad exemptions to AI firms could “undermine the incentive to create new works and erode copyright protection in India.” Producers Guild CEO Nitin Tej Ahuja echoed this view, emphasizing that licensing copyrighted works is vital for creators’ revenue and long-term sustainability.
Earlier this year, India’s commerce ministry established a committee of officials, lawyers, and industry representatives to assess whether the country’s decades-old copyright laws are sufficient to address AI’s complex challenges.
At the heart of the debate lies a central question: should AI companies be allowed to train their models on copyrighted data without explicit consent? Japan allows broad exemptions, while the EU permits rights holders to opt out. The MPA and Indian film guilds are urging New Delhi to follow the EU’s approach, prioritizing creators’ rights over unrestricted AI experimentation.
Their concerns are not unfounded. Around the world, AI tools capable of generating videos, images, and likenesses have triggered lawsuits and ethical controversies.
In September, Warner Bros filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles against AI firm Midjourney, accusing it of “brazenly stealing” copyrighted characters like Batman and Bugs Bunny to create derivative visuals. Midjourney claims its practices fall under “fair use” — an argument fiercely disputed by rights holders.
In India, the issue has become personal. A Bollywood couple recently took YouTube to court after AI-generated deepfakes of them went viral, underscoring how quickly AI misuse can escalate in a country with over 800 million internet users.
Industry representatives fear that without clear licensing requirements, AI platforms will freely scrape copyrighted — and even pirated — content to train their systems, effectively using creative works without authorization.
“Allowing exceptions would deter future investments and the growth of quality local content,” the MPA warned, adding that an opt-out system would unfairly force studios to monitor hundreds of AI developers on their own.
The developments in Brussels and New Delhi reveal how regions across the world are confronting a shared challenge: harnessing AI’s promise while maintaining sovereignty, control, and creative integrity.
For the EU, the priority is indutrial independence — ensuring Europe’s technological future isn’t dictated by American or Chinese firms. For India, it’s cultural protection — safeguarding one of the world’s largest entertainment industries from unregulated AI exploitation.
Ultimately, both cases point to a deeper global shift. AI is no longer viewed merely as a tool but as a strategic asset — one capable of reshaping economies, influencing culture, and altering power balances among nations and corporations.
As Brussels invests billions in “Made-in-Europe” AI and India weighs tighter copyright rules, the global AI landscape is steadily fragmenting along national, industrial, and ethical lines.
The United States continues to favor a fast-moving, innovation-driven approach, while the EU leans toward a rights-based regulatory model. India, meanwhile, stands at a crossroads — balancing its ambitions as a rising AI hub with the demands of its powerful creative sector.
