China’s new copyright guideline represents a comprehensive, forward-looking regulatory strategy to strengthen the country’s creative economy in the digital era.

China’s Copyright Reform Blueprint and Lessons for the West

by ChatGPT-4o

On July 24, 2025, China’s National Copyright Administration (NCA) unveiled a sweeping new guideline for advancing the high-quality development of the copyright sector. This 20-article policy framework outlines China's strategic commitment to integrating intellectual property (IP) protection into the engine of its innovation economy, with an emphasis on adapting legal structures to emerging technologies and enhancing enforcement in the digital realm. The guideline signals not only a regulatory tightening but also a geopolitical maneuver: to position China as a leading global authority on copyright standards in the AI era.

Key Features of the Guideline

The policy outlines five strategic objectives: improving copyright creation, utilization, protection, management, and service provision. Among its notable prescriptions:

1. Protection in Emerging Sectors: The guideline explicitly includes copyright safeguards for blockchain, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. This anticipates the IP challenges arising from generative AI models, deepfakes, algorithmically generated music and art, and AI-assisted code.

2. Sector-Specific Copyright Enforcement: It expands coverage to sports broadcasts, livestreaming, entertainment shows, online literature, e-commerce platforms, and search engines. These domains are often plagued by piracy, derivative misuse, and unauthorized redistribution.

3. Cross-Agency Coordination: The guideline mandates enhanced collaboration among copyright administrators, judicial authorities, cyberspace regulators, cultural authorities, and market supervisors, creating a more unified enforcement ecosystem.

4. International Engagement: It calls for deeper multilateral cooperation through forums like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and WTO, while seeking bilateral engagement via Belt and Road Initiative partnerships.

5. Public Education and Youth Awareness: The policy proposes using digital platforms and social media to raise copyright literacy among youth, thereby fostering a long-term culture of IP respect.

Analysis: A Strategic Copyright Policy in the Age of AI

This is not a generic IP upgrade; it’s an infrastructural realignment. The guidelines reflect the Chinese government’s intention to future-proof its copyright regime by adapting to disruptive technologies while retaining control over IP flows both domestically and internationally.

By highlighting digital sectors where copyright issues are most complex—AI-generated content, livestreaming, and cross-platform aggregation—China is signaling that copyright protection is as much about domestic cultural control as it is about legal modernization.

The guideline’s push toward multilateral cooperation, especially with WIPO, positions China to influence global IP norms, especially in the Global South where Chinese tech and content products are proliferating rapidly. This also subtly challenges the US/EU-led dominance over global IP policymaking.

Should the West Follow Suit?

The West—particularly the EU, UK, and U.S.—would do well to study and selectively adopt China’s proactive copyright framework, while preserving the balance between fair use, innovation, and creator compensation. Some aspects are particularly instructive:

What to Emulate

1. Future-Oriented Coverage: Western regulators are still catching up to the IP implications of AI, blockchain, and cloud platforms. China’s move to explicitly cover these areas is commendable.

2. Cross-Agency Coordination: The NCA’s mandate to streamline cooperation across administrative and enforcement bodies could inspire more coherent IP enforcement strategies in fragmented Western jurisdictions.

3. Youth Education Initiatives: Instilling copyright awareness in younger generations is a long-term cultural investment. This should be mirrored by Western educational authorities and publishers.

4. Platform Accountability: China’s inclusion of e-commerce and search engines echoes debates in the West around content scraping, data mining, and algorithmic recommender systems. Regulatory symmetry is needed globally.

What to Approach with Caution

1. Censorship Risk: China's copyright policies often overlap with broader state control of content. Western countries must preserve IP reform without compromising on civil liberties, artistic freedom, or news reporting.

2. Geopolitical IP Strategy: While the West can learn from China’s global IP ambitions, it must also safeguard against norm export that dilutes international copyright balance in favor of large platforms or state actors.

3. Overregulation of AI: Rapid regulation of AI-generated content without clear guidance could stifle startups and academic research. Western IP regimes should remain flexible, with well-defined carveouts for fair use, parody, commentary, and transformative use.

Recommendations for Western Stakeholders

For Regulators:

• Develop integrated copyright frameworks that include AI, cloud, and blockchain.

• Establish IP task forces with cross-sectoral jurisdiction.

• Increase copyright education campaigns, especially targeting creators, students, and platform users.

• Ensure international copyright collaboration—especially with developing nations—prioritizes equity and fairness.

For Creators and Publishers:

• Engage proactively in IP policy development to ensure creator rights are represented.

• Develop clear licensing frameworks for AI usage and content reproduction.

• Partner with platforms on attribution standards and monetization tools.

For AI Developers and Tech Companies:

• Build in copyright-respecting mechanisms, including metadata retention, attribution signals, and opt-out protocols.

• Prioritize transparency in training data sourcing.

• Engage in standard-setting efforts through WIPO and regional trade alliances.

Conclusion

China’s new copyright guideline represents a comprehensive, forward-looking regulatory strategy to strengthen the country’s creative economy in the digital era. It reflects Beijing’s understanding that copyright, in the AI age, is no longer just a legal concern but a geopolitical lever. The West should not imitate wholesale, but must not ignore the direction either. By adapting selected features—particularly those addressing AI, cross-sector enforcement, and youth education—the West can modernize its copyright systems while upholding values of openness, fairness, and creativity.