Copyright Protection of AI-generated Content under the Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China

Artificial-intelligence-generated content (AIGC) is now virtually indistinguishable from human-authored works, thanks to rapid advances in generative technologies. This has ignited debate over whether such output can be protected by copyright. Under the objective standard of originality, AIGC that satisfies the statutory requirements of a work merits protection under Copyright Law of the People’s Republic of China (CLPRC). Nevertheless, artificial intelligence (AI) itself cannot qualify as a subject of right under the law. Copyright in such protected content should, in principle, vest in the AI user, with due consideration given to investors’ interests and respect for the parties’ autonomy of will. To effectively protect these rights, a dual approach is necessary. First, existing mechanisms within CLPRC should be fully utilized. Second, to address the unique nature of AIGC, a tailored protection regime is required. To this end, the new regime must be designed to integrate existing copyright frameworks with novel, specific mechanisms.