China to bolster IP protection in emerging fields including AI

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China will refine intellectual property (IP) rules for artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms and other emerging technologies, as part of a broader push to modernize its copyright regime for the digital economy.

This move forms part of the country's recently released 15th five-year plan for intellectual property protection and utilization, which maps out IP development priorities from 2026 to 2030.

According to the plan, China will refine IP protection rules for emerging fields and specific sectors, including algorithms, AI-generated content and platform-economy-related IP issues.

To support the development of new quality productive forces, China will strengthen copyright services and safeguards for new technologies and industries such as blockchain, big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence, the plan said.

In recent years, Chinese films, TV series, web novels and video games have gained growing popularity overseas. Revenue from Chinese self-developed games in overseas markets surpassed 20 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, while the country's online literature has reached hundreds of millions of readers in more than 200 countries and regions.

The global expansion of these digital cultural products has heightened the need for stronger copyright safeguards. In the next five years, China will enhance copyright protection and transaction rules in fields like online publishing, online audiovisual services, and online literature and arts, the plan noted.

It will also improve its international IP protection system to achieve better dispute resolution and risk control, and create a case database of cross-border IP disputes, the plan said.

The country will step up IP cooperation through the World Intellectual Property Organization and other multilateral mechanisms, strengthen IP consultations with major trading partners, and help shape international IP rules and standards in emerging fields, the plan added.

The plan set the goal of making decisive progress in building China into an IP powerhouse by 2030, with its IP competitiveness ranking among the world's best by 2035. Another target is to raise the share of copyright industries' value added in GDP to 7.53 percent by 2030.

To this end, the plan urged high-quality development of copyright industries, better transformation and commercialization of copyrighted works, and stronger international promotion to bring more Chinese works to global audiences.

Via these measures, China aims to foster a more robust IP ecosystem that supports innovation and cultural creation, laying a solid foundation for high-quality development in the digital era.