October 14, 2026 Update: The text of the decision is available here. On September 23, 2026, the Jiang’an District People’s Court in Wuhan, China announced the first case in Hubei Province involving copyright infringement of an AI-assisted short drama, holding that AI-generated content meeting the requirements of a “work” is copyrightable, consistent with holdings from several other lower Chinese courts (see, e.g., Li v. Liu). In determining damages, the court included the computing costs associated with token consumption, along with …
Category: Copyright
China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for Copyright Work Calls for AI Training Data and Generative AI Rules
China’s National Copyright Administration has released its Copyright Work Plan for the 15th Five-Year period (2026-2030) (版权工作“十五五”规划), outlining regulatory priorities that include a stated intent to develop new rules for artificial intelligence. The plan, issued in August 2026, positions AI-related copyright issues as an area requiring future rulemaking rather than treating existing law as sufficient.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Issues First National Judicial Rules on AI Disputes — But Sidesteps Copyrightability of AI-Generated Works
On September 7, 2026, the Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China released the Opinions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Trial of Cases Involving Artificial Intelligence Disputes (最高人民法院关于依法审理涉人工智能纠纷案件的意见). The Opinions comprise five parts and 24 articles and are the first set of judicial adjudication rules concerning artificial intelligence issued by China’s highest judicial body. They are framed as guidance for lower courts applying existing law – the Civil Code, Cybersecurity Law, Data Security Law, Copyright Law, …
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate Releases Five Typical Cases on Technical Support in IP Case Handling
On September 2, 2026, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) publicly released five typical cases illustrating technical support in intellectual property procuratorial case handling. These cases were jointly compiled by the SPP’s Intellectual Property Procuratorial Department and the Procuratorial Technology and Information Research Center, reflecting recent efforts by procuratorial organs to adapt to the specialized and technical nature of intellectual property cases. The cases span both criminal and civil procuratorial functions, addressing technical issues including patent infringement determination, non-public-knowledge determination for …