A law expert and deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature, shared his insight into the country's artificial intelligence (AI) governance, and intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection in an era of rapid technological development.
Ma Yide, dean of the School of Intellectual Property at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, said China has made great achievements in sci-tech legislation over recent years.
"China has built two full-fledged legislative frameworks for science and technology. One is a national sci-tech innovation framework, anchored by the Law on Scientific and Technological Progress and the Law on Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements. It focuses on how research resources are allocated and how innovation is turned into real-world applications. The other is a market-oriented framework, supported by the Patent Law, the Copyright Law, and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. It protects the creators' rights and promotes fair competition," he said in an interview with China Media Group.
The law expert said these frameworks support China's technological progress and industrial upgrading.
"China has also enacted other laws such as the Personal Information Protection Law and the Data Security Law. These laws set clear bottomlines for data use and platform governance, and form the backbone of the digital economy's legal system," he said.
However, Ma said challenges remain as new technologies are moving faster than traditional legislation. From data collection and algorithm training to content generation, AI keeps bringing new questions in defining rights and assigning responsibility.
Going forward, Ma suggested that technology legislation should advance on two fronts. First, existing rules on intellectual property rights and digital governance need to be updated. And second, lawmakers need to move earlier into frontier areas like brain-computer interfaces and the low-altitude economy.
The rise of AI is reshaping the international IP competition landscape. China plays an increasingly important role in global governance and advancing international cooperation in the field of intellectual property.
"China is moving from a learner and rule-taker to an active participant in and contributor to global intellectual property governance. Therefore, we should promote the formation of a more open, inclusive, balanced and orderly international intellectual property landscape," he said.
For decades, global IP rules were led by developed countries in Europe and the U.S. These systems set high protection standards, but often paid limited attention to the realities of developing countries such as differences in innovation capacity, access to technology, and public interests.
As China and other emerging economies grow, the global innovation map is shifting. Ma said China should engage more actively within existing multilateral frameworks to offer solutions that balance innovation incentives with public interest.
On one side, China should firmly support the multilateral system built around the World Intellectual Property Organization and the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), while contributing to updating global rules and strengthening its role in agenda-setting.
On the other, China should expand practical cooperation on patent examination, cross-border enforcement, dispute resolution, and international arbitration to improve the transparency and predictability of IPRs protection.
At the same time, by sharing experience and contributing to global advancement, China can help move global IP governance toward dialogue, cooperation, and shared benefit, according to the law expert.
NPC deputy shares views on China's IPRs protection, AI governance
