The first session of the "CIETAC Jinling Forum" in 2025 and symposium on the "Protection and Risk Prevention of Generative Artificial Intelligence" were successfully held in Nanjing on April 29, 2025. This event was jointly organized by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission Jiangsu Arbitration Center (CIETAC Jiangsu Arbitration Center), Jiangsu International Commercial Legal Service Center, Jiangsu Enterprise Legal Work Association, and Nanjing Lawyers Association, with co-organization by Southeast University Law School. The event served as a professional platform for legal practitioners, scholars, and arbitration experts in Jiangsu and neighboring regions to exchange insights on commercial dispute resolution. It focused on legal risks and intellectual property protection related to generative AI technologies.

The seminar was presided over by Tang Yinhong, Deputy Secretary-General of the CIETAC Jiangsu Arbitration Center. He stated that generative AI technology, with its robust capabilities in deep learning and data processing, is revolutionizing content generation models across industries while posing challenges to intellectual property protection and corporate compliance. This event aimed to help participants gain a deeper understanding of relevant legal frameworks and judicial practice trends, improve addressing legal risks in Generative AI applications, and select appropriate dispute resolution pathways. Arbitration has become increasingly favored by parties in intellectual property disputes due to its prominent advantages of professionalism, efficiency, and confidentiality. CIETAC places high importance on innovation and investment in intellectual property arbitration services, establishing its Intellectual Property Arbitration Center in 2022 and pioneering the release of the China International Intellectual Property Arbitration Annual Report (2022) at that year. In early April of this year, CIETAC unveiled the latest China International Intellectual Property Arbitration Annual Report (2024) in Beijing, which comprehensively summarizes and showcases the theoretical research and practical achievements in China's intellectual property arbitration. This report significantly enhanced the international influence and credibility of Chinese intellectual property arbitration.

Xue Xinghua, Vice President of the Jiangsu Provincial Enterprise Legal Work Association, and Li Yuefeng, Vice President of the Nanjing Lawyers Association, delivered speeches at the event. 

Vice President Xue Xinghua noted that intellectual property serves as a catalyst for innovation, emphasizing that protecting intellectual property equates to safeguarding technological innovation. Generative artificial intelligence, represented by DeepSeek, has brought transformative technological changes in content generation while simultaneously introducing legal risks in intellectual property. Only through continuous improvement of relevant laws and regulations, coupled with innovative judicial practices, can we effectively prevent technological misuse, promote the lawful and compliant development of AI, and drive high-quality socioeconomic advancement.

Vice President Li Yuefeng presented the development status of intellectual property in Jiangsu Province in recent years. He highlighted the continuous expansion of the intelligent industry scale, the strengthened support from digital infrastructure, and the broadening application fields of generative artificial intelligence technology. He emphasized that in the era of AI, only by deeply understanding the fundamental principles of AI and leveraging AI tools to analyze infringement risks and predict dispute resolution trends can enterprises effectively manage IP compliance and seize the commanding heights of innovation.

(From left to right are CIETAC Jiangsu Arbitration Center Deputy Secretary-General Tang Yinhong , Vice President of Jiangsu Provincial Enterprise Legal Work Association Xue Xinghua, and Vice President of the Nanjing Lawyers Association Li Yuefeng)

In a thematic presentation session, Professor Hu Zhaoyang from Southeast University Law School and Director of the Institute of Technology and Intellectual Property Law, delivered a keynote speech on the "Application of Safe Harbor Rules in Generative Artificial Intelligence Services". He explored the origins of the "safe harbor rules," their legal evolution across jurisdictions, and the technical features and business models of generative artificial intelligence services. He also analyzed the potential applicability and limitations of these rules in the context of generative AI through case studies. This discussion emphasized the interplay between algorithmic transparency, data governance, and liability frameworks under existing intellectual property regimes.

Zou Yi, Senior Partner and Director of the Intellectual Property and Information Network Department at Beijing Dacheng (Nanjing) Law Offices, delivered a lecture titled "Intellectual Property Challenges and Responses in Generative AI Services: A Copyrightability Analysis Based on AIGC". The presentation clarified key concepts in artificial intelligence, outlined China's administrative regulatory framework for generative AI services, analyzed divergent judicial perspectives on the copyrightability of Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC), and proposed multiple risks mitigation strategies for AI service providers to effectively address associated legal risks. 

Finally, Founder and Director of Shanghai Hutong Law Firm Wang Jing  delivered a keynote presentation on "Exploring Pressing Legal Issues in Intellectual Property for Generative Artificial Intelligence". Through detailed analyses and case demonstrations from his own legal practice, he thoroughly examined contentious topics, such as prerequisites for granting intellectual property protection to AI-generated outputs, methodologies for defining liability boundaries of generative AI platforms, and whether the use of AI training data constitutes copyright infringement and evidentiary challenges in litigation.

(The individuals from left to right are: Southeast University Professor and Director of the Institute of Science and Technology Law and Intellectual Property Hu Chaoyang, Dentons (Nanjing) Law Firm Senior Partner Zou Yi, Shanghai Hutong Law Office Founder and Director Wang Jing)

The seminar garnered active participation from legal professionals, including practicing lawyers, legal personnel, and university students. The venue was filled to capacity and sparking enthusiastic responses. 

The CIETAC Jinling Forum, a promotional brand established by the CIETAC Jiangsu Arbitration Center, serves as a professional platform for corporate legal counsels, lawyers, scholars, and arbitration practitioners in Jiangsu and its neighboring regions to exchange insights on arbitration law. In the future, CIETAC Jiangsu Center will continue to focus on addressing pressing challenges in commercial dispute resolution like intellectual property disputes while providing specialized opportunities for professional learning and collaboration.