India Copyright Office Denies DABUS AI Authorship

On August 31, 2026, India's Copyright Office issued a landmark order in the case of an artwork titled 'A Recent Entrance to Paradise', generated by the AI system DABUS. The Office ruled that the artwork met the originality requirement under Section 13 of the Copyright Act, but refused to recognize DABUS as its author. Citing Section 2(d)(vi), which identifies the author of computer-generated works as 'the person who causes the work to be created', the Registrar held that DABUS, who conceived, configured, and operated DABUS, was the legal author. The Office emphasized that AI systems lack legal personality and cannot be authors under current law, and that any change to grant AI authorship is a policy decision reserved for Parliament. The ruling distinguishes originality from authorship, clarifying that AI-generated works can be original but the author must be a human or juristic person. This is among the first decisions in India to address AI authorship and follows a India — Delhi High Court directive. The decision has implications for creative industries using generative AI, as it clarifies that human involvement and control determine copyright ownership.