WIPO Office in China Holds Roundtable in Beijing on Copyright Issues in the AI Era

WIPO Office in China (WOC) held a copyright-themed New Year Roundtable in Beijing, bringing together representatives from the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC), the Copyright Society of China, the Music Copyright Society of China, the China Audio-Video Copyright Association, the China Written Works Copyright Society, the Images Copyright Society of China, the China Film Copyright Association, the Beijing Publishing Copyright Association, and member representatives from relevant organizations.

The roundtable centered on emerging copyright issues in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. Ms. Liu Hua, Director of WOC highlighted China's historic innovation breakthrough in 2025, marked by its first entry into the top ten of the Global Innovation Index and the robust vitality of copyright-related industries. She noted the deepening WIPO-China cooperation in copyright matters. 

Ms. Liu pointed out that technological transformation is reshaping the global innovation ecosystem at an unprecedented pace. Since 2019, WIPO has held the WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies for six consecutive years, facilitating global exchanges on the impact of AI and other frontier technologies on IP. WIPO will launch the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Interchange (AIII) initiative this March to establish a global dialogue platform bringing together creators, rights holders, and AI developers for practical dialogue on AI applications, exploring technical solutions to support the copyright system's continued effectiveness in the new technological context.

Ms. Liu also introduced the 2026 editions of two award programs WIPO is conducting: the WIPO Global Awards and the World IP Day Youth Video Competition, encouraging young Chinese innovators and creators to actively participate. She stated that WOC will continue advancing work in four areas: telling IP stories with a people-centered approach; deepening partnerships to co-create the IP future; providing high-quality IP services to deliver user value; and developing IP policy tools to support growth and development. She cordially invited Chinese copyright associations and collective management organizations to join these initiatives and work together to advance innovation and development in China's copyright sector.

Building on their hands-on expertise, participants discussed technology application, institutional upgrades, and international collaboration. A broad consensus emerged that meeting copyright challenges in the age of technological change calls for coordinated action in three areas: refining the legal framework, strengthening collective management organizations, and deepening cross-border cooperation. The roundtable proved an effective forum for industry dialogue, with all sides pledging to maintain regular exchanges to forge shared understanding and jointly foster a thriving copyright ecosystem and creative industries.