The guidelines are intended to address the legal and ethical challenges arising from the rapid development of AI.
The Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court has issued judicial opinions aimed at strengthening intellectual property protections in the artificial intelligence sector, reflecting the city’s ambition to become a national AI innovation hub.
In the newly released opinions, the Hangzhou court outlined a judicial framework designed to keep pace with technological advancements and the specific needs of the city’s growing AI sector, aiming to address the legal and ethical challenges arising from the rapid development of AI technologies.
The Court has issued new opinions aimed at strengthening intellectual property protection in the artificial intelligence sector, as part of broader efforts to position the city as a national hub for AI innovation. It cautioned against using “technological neutrality” as a pretext for overlooking ethical risks or potential harm to public interest posed by AI. The Court called for stricter oversight and enforcement against abuses such as deepfakes, data theft and algorithmic discrimination, underscoring the need to clarify the ethical and legal boundaries of AI applications.
On copyright issues related to AI-generated content, the court clarified the standard for determining whether AI-assisted works qualify as intellectual creations protectable under China’s copyright law. The key criterion, the court stated, is whether a human creator has made a substantial and original contribution to the work.
In its opinions, the court also stated that it would explore the application of the “fair use” doctrine under the copyright law and work to clarify when limited use of copyrighted materials — without causing “unreasonable” harm to copyright owners — can be considered lawful.
The Court also pledged to develop rules for protecting AI-related trade secrets.
Additionally, it outlined a multi-pronged mechanism for verifying technical facts in AI-related cases, involving technical investigators, expert jurors, specialist advisors to ensure neutrality and scientific rigor in the fact-finding process. To support this initiative, the Hangzhou court plans to expand its expert pool, drawing from top universities, research institutes and high-tech enterprises.
The opinions further advocate the integration of AI technologies into judicial practices, particularly in intellectual property cases, noting that the Hangzhou court will leverage the data processing and analytical capabilities of AI tools to enhance case-handling efficiency and support adjudication processes in the digital era.
Home to leading Chinese AI players such as Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of tech giant Alibaba Group, large language model developer DeepSeek and robotics pioneer Unitree Robotics, Hangzhou has emerged as a key center for cutting-edge AI research and development in China.
Source: MLex
