ASIA PACIFIC Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dongxiao Ma, Yuanchao Ma, Dan He and Peng Zhang, Zhong Lun Law Firm
Copyright Technological innovation is reshaping the traditional copyright protection system In recent years, a new copyright protection ecosys- tem has emerged in the Asia-Pacific region, character- ised by comprehensive application of AI technology, gradual improvement of legislative rules, strengthened platform responsibilities and deepened regional co- ordination. AI is no longer merely a source of copyright risks, but has become a core infrastructure for rights confirmation, monitoring and governance, facilitat- ing the shift in copyright protection from a passive, reactive model to an intelligent, predictive and fully integrated closed-loop system. In terms of legislation and ownership, major Asia- Pacific countries have gradually reached a consen- sus that human-led creation is the core premise of copyright protection, and that AI-generated content may obtain limited protection provided that it meets the requirements of being human-led and original, although it must be labelled with its source. Recently, Vietnam and South Korea have revised their IP/copy- right laws, while China and Indonesia have improved supporting rules. In terms of right confirmation and evidence collec- tion, blockchain-based evidence preservation and AI- powered originality detection technologies have been widely adopted. China is attempting to use AI tools to quickly compare the similarity of works, trace dis- semination paths and preserve electronic evidence, effectively solving the key challenges of traditional rights protection – ie, difficulty in evidence collection, difficulty in determination and prolonged proceedings. In terms of monitoring and law enforcement, main- stream digital platforms have generally deployed AI- powered copyright monitoring systems. Short video, live streaming, e-commerce and AI generation plat- forms have been subject to a higher duty of care. The traditional notice-and-takedown mechanism has been upgraded to a proactive prevention and control mech- anism of prediction-filtering-action, greatly shortening the chain of dissemination of infringing content. At the regional co-ordination level, copyright data inter- connection, law enforcement assistance and mutual
recognition of judgments under the RCEP framework are steadily advancing, effectively improving the effi- ciency of cross-border infringement governance. In general, the Asia-Pacific copyright ecosystem in 2026 is characterised by technological intelligence, clear rules, proactive governance and co-ordinated protection. AI has not only reshaped content creation, but also reconstructed the copyright protection sys- tem, helping to achieve a dynamic balance between innovation incentives and rights protection. However, this change also brings new challenges to copyright protection, requiring lawyers to navigate multiple dimensions, including law versus technology, tradi- tion versus innovation and rights protection versus industrial development to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the copyright industry in the digital age. Trade Marks Amendment and outlook for China’s Trademark Law At the end of December 2025, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress deliberated on the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (Revised Draft) and solicited public consultation. This marks the fifth amendment to China’s Trademark Law since its promulgation in 1982. Compared to previous amendments, this one introduces significant system- atic changes. Beyond continuing to combat bad-faith trade mark squatting through a full-chain prevention approach and strengthening registrants’ obligations of use by shifting from a registration-oriented to a use- oriented basis, it also reflects contemporary charac- teristics such as focusing on digital economy gov- ernance and empowering the trade mark protection system through digitisation and intelligentisation. AI deeply restructures the entire trade mark protection chain in the Asia-Pacific region In 2026, AI has profoundly restructured the entire chain of trade mark protection in the Asia-Pacific region, forming a new ecosystem featuring intelligent examination, global real-time monitoring and regional co-ordination. At the stage of registration and examination, AI has become a standard infrastructure. With the full imple- mentation of the 13th Edition of the Nice Classifica-
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