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IPEM Journals/Law/Vol. 9

THE COMMONS THAT FEED THE MACHINES: POLICY REFLECTIONS ON AI’S USE OF PUBLIC DOMAIN WORKS

K.Ankita Rao · Vishakha Sakharkar

Vol 9, Issue 1 (2025)Pages 81-93Published 2024-12-30

Abstract

The contours of creativity and access to knowledge are being transformed due to the advent in technology, especially Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI relies on large scale data scraping from the online repositories which also include public domain works. While public domain was earlier conceived as a shared cultural resource to enable innovation, the growing practice of using the public domain materials for training of AI, raises a troubling paradox of privatization of what was meant to remain freely accessible. As the AI companies are trying to convert publicly available materials into proprietary datasets and outputs usually under opaque and unregulated circumstances, the digital commons is at a risk of being enclosed under the new technological regime. This paper examines how such an appropriation is carried out through data practices, transforming freely available cultural resources into proprietary algorithmic assets. The paper carries out a comparative legal and policy analysis of jurisdictions including the United States of America, the European Union, India, Japan etc. in order to study the existing copyright exceptions, database rights and fair use and fair dealing provisions which intersect with the use of the public domain material for AI training. The paper also aims to study how open access and data governance frameworks a empt to preserve the openness of the public domain in the digital ecosystem. Further, the paper evaluates emerging trends surrounding text and data mining and ethical implications of enclosing the digital commons through technological means. The final aim of the study is to raise critical questions and find suitable answers regarding sustainability of public domain as a democratic and accessible space in the age of AI.

Keywords

  • Public Domain
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Data Scraping
  • Digital Commons
  • Copyright

Author affiliations

  • K.Ankita Rao, Assistant Professor (Law), Kalinga University, Raipur
  • Vishakha Sakharkar, Assistant Professor (Law), Kalinga University, Raipur

How to cite

K.Ankita Rao, Vishakha Sakharkar, “THE COMMONS THAT FEED THE MACHINES: POLICY REFLECTIONS ON AI’S USE OF PUBLIC DOMAIN WORKS,” IPEM Law Journal, vol. 9, pp. 81–93, Dec. 2025, doi:

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