The "New Challenges for Intellectual Property Protection in the Digital Economy Era" workshop hosted by and held at Nottingham University Business School China (NUBS China) was successfully convened on 3rd September 2022. The workshop was co-organised by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Centre for Digital Copyright and IP Research in China, NUBS China, UNNC, and the University of Exeter Law School in the UK.
The workshop began with opening remarks from Professor Hing Kai Chan, Acting Associate Dean of Education and Student Experience and Professor of Operations Management at NUBS China. More than 50 participants from relevant companies including China-Base Ningbo Group Co., Ltd, Haitian Smart Solutions, Amazon Ningbo Office, Ningbo law firms, Ningbo University, and Shandong Science and Technology University were invited to attend.
Since September 2021, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Country (2021-2035)", how the development of enterprises and the protection of intellectual property rights can be balanced has sparked extensive discussions in academic and industry circles. Especially in the digital economy era, paying attention to the boundary issues of intellectual property protection is necessary. Excessive protection of intellectual property rights may lead to monopolies, while too little protection may inhibit innovation. At the same time, how to balance the relationship between intellectual property protection and anti-monopoly practice is also a question worth considering. The continuous innovation of technology is not only transforming traditional production and business models, but is also putting forward new requirements for intellectual property protection. The increasing number of new types of "works" (3D printing digital models, musical fountains, NFT, etc.) continue to impact traditional copyright theory. Furthermore, the determination of patent infringement is challenged by the secrecy of the infringement form (the application of indirect patent infringement) and the protection of user information has become an important aspect of corporate compliance. Simultaneously, the development of technology has brought us challenges but has also provided us with technical support: the application of blockchain technology in the fixation of evidence and the application of NFT in the ownership of artwork copyrights. Therefore, in the era of the digital economy, how to continuously improve the innovation ability of enterprises while avoiding unnecessary infringement disputes is an urgent problem that needs to be solved. This workshop proposed practical solutions to address such problems by combining the latest achievements of theory with problems encountered in enterprise practice.
The workshop's opening speech by Professor Chan shared the latest progress on the projects "Licensing System for 3D Printing in China - Impact follow on" funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and "Designing the Authentication Platform based on the Patented 3D Printing Digital Watermarking Technology and Blockchain Technology" funded by the Li Dak Sum Innovation Fellowship.
The workshop consisted of four keynote speeches. Dr Mu Xiaochen from the University of Exeter Law School delivered speeches on the "Protection of New Intellectual Property Objects" and the "Dilemma of User Personal Information Protection". Guo Min, a doctoral student from the UNNC, also spoke further on the "Design of 3D Printing Authentication Platform Based on 3D Printing Digital Watermarking Technology and Blockchain Technology". Industry guest and UNNC alumnus John shared his speech on "NFT Investment".
The workshop was held in a relaxed atmosphere, and the audience and speakers had in-depth exchanges and discussions on related topics. For instance, while strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights, malicious reports from competing parties often emerge. Under such circumstances, the platform's capability to audit is extremely limited. Therefore, how such a situation can be avoided is an urgent problem that needs to be solved. The participants also discussed with Guo Min the construction of the 3D printing watermarking system with some proposing that blockchain technology still needs the approval of the judicial department in terms of fixed evidence. After John's speech, the audience members offline and online showed great enthusiasm for the investments in the NFT industry and exchanged their views with John on the current status of the NFT industry and its future.
The workshop established a close relationship between UNNC and related enterprises. In terms of theory, the workshop introduced to the enterprises relevant policies on the protection of intellectual property rights from a macro perspective. Concurrently, combined with the latest cases in judicial practice, the workshop introduced to the enterprises how the new problems of intellectual property protection in the era of the digital economy can be addressed. Full familiarity with the latest legislation is necessary to improve a company's compliance work. The enterprises also promoted relevant theoretical research through new problems they encountered in practice. In short, achieving commercial innovation alongside technological innovation and finding the right balance of public policies in the digital economy era plays an important role in solving intellectual property issues in the age of the internet.