New Delhi: Copyright has increasingly become a focal point in discussions involving creators, publishers, and audiences. What began as a controversy involving news agency ANI has since drawn in other organisations, with the Government of India now joining the conversation.
On Thursday, Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcaster, promoted its initiative PB-SHABD (Prasar Bharati - Shared Audio-Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination) which aims to offer creators such as YouTubers, podcasters, and video editors access to copyright-free content.
Via several posts on X (formerly Twitter), the broadcaster invited content creators to register for the platform’s free offerings. These include news footage, visuals, and other material that it claims is “safe, authentic, and totally free to use.”
In one of its posts, Prasar Bharati stated: “Worried about copyright strikes? Not anymore.”
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The broadcaster also showcased its extensive content catalogue via the official X handle of All India Radio News, highlighting “50 categories, 15 languages, One Platform.”
The initiative received endorsement from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which described PB-SHABD as “a game-changer for creators.”
According to Prasar Bharati, over 1,700 journalists are already utilising the service, accessing infographics, videos, photographs, and written content.
PB-SHABD appears to be the government’s response to concerns among creators about copyright strikes and takedown notices. One of the promotional posts read: “You create. We back you. No copyright claims. No takedowns. No strikes.”
Meanwhile, other agencies have also taken steps in this direction. The Press Trust of India (PTI) recently announced an initiative to offer “affordable” licensed access to its video content for individual creators across YouTube and other platforms.
In a public statement, PTI said: “As India's most trusted news agency, we at Press Trust of India remain committed to credible journalism and ethical business practices. To support responsible content creation, we offer individual YouTube creators highly affordable access to PTI videos.”
These developments follow a dispute between YouTuber Mohak Mangal and ANI. On 25 May, Mangal alleged ANI issued copyright strikes on his channel and demanded over ₹40 lakh to retract them, calling it “extortion and blackmail.”
In response, ANI filed a defamation case in the Delhi High Court, which later directed Mangal to remove content the agency found objectionable. Both parties have agreed on edits before the video is re-uploaded.
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