——Exclusive interview with WIPO Assistant Director General Mr.Kenichiro Natsume
Bilingual Weekly will launch the"IP Dialogue"column,exploring hot topics in the field of IP from open and professional perspectives.
Kenichiro Natsume
The 2025 High-Level Forum on China's IP protection was held in Beijing on April 21,with the theme"Opportunities and Challenges:Intellectual Proper-ty Governance in the Context of Artificial Intelligence."Intellectual property(IP)plays a crucial role in fostering responsible AI and promoting its human-centric application by incentivizing innovation and creativity.To explore the in-tersection of AI and IP,we invited Mr.Kenichiro Natsume,Assistant Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO),to share his in-sights during the Forum.
4月21日，以“机遇与挑战：人工智能背景下的知识产权治理”为主题的2025luck18首页在京举行。知识产权通过激励创新和创造，在促进负责任的人工智能发展，以及实现以人为本的人工智能应用方面发挥着至关重要的作用。此次论坛期间，我们与世界知识产权组织助理总干事夏目健一郎面对面对话，聆听他关于人工智能与知识产权的真知灼见。
As frontier technologies represented by AI fall within the scope of WIPO's Infrastructure and Platforms Sector,what initiatives has WIPO undertaken to address the op-portunities and challenges AI presents for the IP system?
Natsume:IP has long served as a mechanism for sup-porting human creativity and innovation.The rapid evolu-tion of AI makes it increasingly important to address its im-plications for the IP system.WIPO is addressing the intersection of AI and IP through three key initiatives.First,WIPO serves as a plat-form for diverse stakeholders to engage in open discussions and debates on AI and IP.Given varying perspectives on AI,WIPO organizes the WIPO Conversation on IP and Frontier Technologies every year.These events,which have focused on AI in recent sessions,aim to build a shared un-derstanding of the issues.
Second,WIPO offers resources to help stakeholders navi-gate AI-related IP issues.One example is the publication of"Getting the Innovation Ecosystem Ready for AI:An IP pol-icy toolkit,"which helps policymakers explore key ques-tions,such as whether AI can be an inventor and if AI-gen-erated inventions should be patentable.WIPO is sharing in-formation on possible policy options and their implications,supporting policymakers in making informed decisions for their countries or IP offices.
Lastly,WIPO is supporting innovators and creators on the ground in grass root projects for example in the Arab,LAC and ASEAN regions.The projects are to build capaci-ty,supporting real companies and startups in IP manage-ment clinics and demonstrating the impact of IP.Through these initiatives,WIPO mentors small companies and start-ups in specific regions,helping them develop strategies to leverage AI and IP,bring their innovations to market,and expand their operations sustainably.
Given the diverse approaches and standards across countries regarding IP protection in the field of AI,how does WIPO facilitate international cooper-ation and foster knowledge exchange?What role can China play in addressing the IP-related challenges and opportunities brought by AI?
Natsume:At this stage,the creation of an international AI and IP treaty is premature due to differing national posi-tions and legal outcomes.Instead,WIPO facilitates open di-alogue among stakeholders to build mutual understanding.
China has topped the global IP filings for years,making many contributions to the global IP society.According to WIPO's recent Patent Landscape Report that analyzed pat-ent documents and scientific journals from 2013 to 2023,the largest proportion in the number of patent applications and six of the top ten filers were from China.Moreover,in the AI field,China's experience—including court cases and IP practices—can provide valuable insights for other countries.With the significant advances that China has made in the field of AI,it is well-positioned to contribute to global discussions,helping ensure that AI and IP frame-works are both future-ready and balanced.
This year's World IP Day is themed"IP and Music:Feel the Beat of IP."With AI increasingly used in cre-ative fields,what has WIPO done to help member states address emerging IP challenges?How can Chi-nese musicians,players and innovators leverage these resources to protect their innovations?
Natsume:WIPO chose this theme because music reso-nates universally,providing an accessible gateway to ex-plore IP.Music,like all creative fields,is influenced by technology,and IP plays a vital role in protecting these in-novations.Through this theme,WIPO aims to underscore the indispensable role of IP in our everyday lives.
AI is now composing music and even writing content,raising concerns about the fair distribution of rewards and potential exploitation of human creators,such as musicians and artists.While it is undeniable that AI has made signifi-cant contributions to the arts and music,it is crucial to re-member that human creators remain the primary contribu-tors to these fields.As such,WIPO recognizes the impor-tance of striking a balance between technological progress and human creativity.WIPO is working to explore how to establish such a balance,gathering insights from experts to ensure fair recognition and compensation.
In addition,WIPO's online platform CLIP helps musi-cians to better understand IP.These resources provide in-sights from industry experts and are available in multiple languages,making them accessible to creators around the world,including those in China.That's something I highly recommend to Chinese creators.
Looking ahead,how do you envision the global IP system adapting to the rapid evolution of AI technolo-gies?What role do you think WIPO would play in pro-moting a more equitable and efficient global system?
Natsume:IP is the global safeguard of human innova-tion and creativity.At the current stage,even advanced Generative AI is not fully autonomous,so humans still need to intervene.In the future,there could be completely automatic autonomous Generative AI.That may be another story.But so far AI has been trained based on past data—a form of replication or reformulation of previous informa-tion.That's the difference between AI-generated works and genuine human innovations.I believe the global IP system,even with the evolution of AI technologies,will continue to play a key role in protecting human creativity and inno-vation.That's the fundamental role of IP.
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AI elements at the High-Level Forum
Chief Planner:Zeng Yanni
Coordinators:Wang Yu/Cai Guangning/Wang Rui
Writers:Xue Peiwen/Tian Yihui/Guo Siyuan
Designers:Yao Lihui/Wang Zhenjie
Photographers:Guo Siyuan/Yue Yong
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（Editor Liu Shan）
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