China's top court is drafting new rules to make clear how copyright applies to AI-generated con

China's Top Court Moves to Define AI Copyright Rules—Ultraman Case Sets Precedent

China is drawing a legal line around AI and copyright. Li Jian, head of the Supreme People's Court's Third Civil Division, said new judicial policy is in the works to tackle two big questions: what makes an AI-generated work "original," and what happens when a model trains on someone else's content?

Current copyright law doesn't really cover generative AI. But the courts are already building a record. Li pointed to the "Ultraman case"—China's first AIGC infringement lawsuit. An AI art platform hosted侵权 Ultraman models for ages. Last September, a court ordered it to stop and pay 30,000 yuan in damages, ruling that AI service providers can be liable for user infringement in certain situations.

The key takeaway? Courts say providers' duties should match their ability to manage info. Generative AI services only get regulated when they break good faith or mess with market competition—leaving the industry some breathing room.

On March 5, Vice President Tao Kaiyuan confirmed the court is working on broader AI and data产权 policies, noting that judges "can't just mechanically apply old laws" to these cases. The numbers back it up: in 2024, courts handled 908 data disputes—up 25.6% from the year before.