The DeepSeek app is seen on a screen, Jan. 29. Reuters-Yonhap
The DeepSeek app is seen on a screen, Jan. 29. Reuters-Yonhap
China's highest court will step up protections for AI and intellectual property this year as the country seeks to foster new industries.
The commitment was part of the Supreme People's Court's annual work report delivered by court president and chief justice Zhang Jun to the top legislature in Beijing on Saturday.
Zhang said the top court supported the lawful application of artificial intelligence and "protects innovation strictly in accordance with the law."
"Measures were taken to punish infringements using AI technology, promoting orderly and regulated development," he told the National People's Congress (NPC).
China is looking to AI to help move the country up the industrial value chain and overcome limits on access to advanced technology from the West, particularly U.S. sanctions.
Part of the court's work report was given over to ways to encourage such innovation and curb the abuses of AI, other technology and private enterprise.
The rise of AI start-up DeepSeek has shown how fast China's hi-tech fortunes can change and there are concerns about the risks associated with this business-critical technology, including patent disputes, privacy violations, and defamation.
Zhang said there had been a dramatic rise in IP disputes more broadly and new types of disputes had emerged. For instance, courts have had to weigh whether the copyright over AI-generated content belongs to the person who initiates the prompt.
"The balancing of interests has become more complex, with foreign factors becoming more prominent," he said, referring to complications from foreign entities involved in the disputes.
In all, the courts dealt with more than 490,000 intellectual property cases in 2024, up from 100,000 in 2013, it said.
The Intellectual Property Court — which comes under the supreme court — has also faced an increasing volume of cases involving strategic emerging industries since it was set up in 2019. Such cases accounted for about a third of its total last year, the report said.
In recent months, several courts have also handed down verdicts on copyright infringements related to AI-generated content. The supreme court is reportedly planning to come up with guidelines for deciding such cases.
Zhang added that China had strengthened judicial protection of intellectual property rights in fields such as next-generation information technology, advanced equipment, biopharmaceuticals, and new materials to encourage commercial applications of such technology.
That process is expected to continue this year.
Delivering the NPC's annual work report earlier on Saturday, NPC chairman Zhao Leji said China would intensify legislative research in emerging sectors including artificial intelligence, the digital economy and big data.
Some NPC delegates have proposed legislation to regulate AI.
Zhang Tianren, chairman of battery maker Tianneng Group, and deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 5. Xinhua-Yonhap
Zhang Tianren, chairman of battery maker Tianneng Group, and deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), attends a group interview ahead of the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 5. Xinhua-Yonhap
Zhang Tianren, chairman of battery maker Tianneng Group, said consumers and investors were being misled by false or exaggerated claims in AI-generated advertising.
AI's reliance on vast amounts of data also raised significant privacy risks, and the lack of clear liability in such cases meant victims struggled to get legal recourse, mainland media reports quoted him as saying.
China is among the first countries to have introduced rules for AI, issuing a series of temporary measures since August 2023 that require service providers to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.
In August last year, the European Union became the first in the world to adopt a comprehensive legal framework to govern AI and mitigate risks, with the rules applying to all of its 27 member states.
On protections for the private sector, the supreme court also said it would target law enforcers who extorted money and harass businesspeople.
Some debt-laden local authorities have also pressured firms to write-off government debts or imposed stiff fines to boost coffers.
Read the full story at SCMP.