AIGCs' copyright question needs answering

The rapid development of emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing has had a profound impact on people's daily lives as well as the legal system.

A big question rattling both sociologists and legal experts is whether artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) should be protected by intellectual property and property laws. China's existing laws do not have detailed provisions for intellectual property rights related to AI. So the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Intellectual Property Protection and Planning has proposed to "improve intellectual property protection policies, and establish a sound intellectual property protection system for new fields and formats such as big data, artificial intelligence, and genetic technology".

Making clear the position of AIGC in intellectual property laws is key to exploring the AI issue from the perspective of IPRs. It is especially important to determine whether AIGC fulfills the requirements for being protected by IP laws, such as whether the products generated by AI meet the conditions for protection under the Copyright Law and whether the AI-assisted inventions and creations qualify to be protected by the Patent Law.