China tightens IP rules for AI, patents and trade secrets

China’s latest IP policy agenda puts emerging technologies at the center of protection and enforcement. On 27 July, the State Council issued the Intellectual Property Protection and Utilisation Plan for the 15th Five-Year Period, outlining measures through 2030 for AI, algorithm-generated content, platform economies, data-related rights, open-source technologies and space-related IP. The plan also calls for stronger dispute handling, wider use of punitive damages, more alternative dispute resolution, and expanded IP-backed financing.

Regulators and courts are tightening procedures across patents, chip layouts and copyright. On 28 July, CNIPA revised patent priority examination rules to require significant innovative value and strong commercial or practical prospects, moving beyond broad sector eligibility under the 2017 Measures. On 23 July, CNIPA also revised integrated circuit layout design rules taking effect on 15 October 2026, extending protection to photonic and quantum integrated circuits. The Supreme People’s Court amended copyright guidance to broaden public disclosure rules and narrow online reprinting rights without authorisation.

Enforcement updates highlight AI-related disputes and trade secret risks. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles agreed to cooperate on arts-sector IP matters, including platform infringement and AI-related IP disputes. SAMR published six representative trade secret cases, with five out of the six involving current or former employees and protectable assets such as AI prompt engineering frameworks and algorithmic review rules. SAMR reported 383 trade secret infringement cases between 2024 and August 2026, while prosecutors reviewed 488 criminal cases involving 1,242 individuals between 2023 and June 2026.