China’s supreme court drafts guidelines to tackle AI disputes

China's top court is drafting a judicial guideline to improve the handling of disputes involving artificial intelligence, aiming to address challenges in emerging fields through high-quality adjudication, officials announced Monday.

Tao Kaiyuan, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court, highlighted the intensified focus on intellectual property cases in emerging sectors over the past year. In 2025 alone, courts concluded 908 disputes related to data ownership and transactions, a 25.6 percent increase from the previous year.

Tao emphasized addressing civil cases and technological issues related to AI-generated content and AI models.

Li Jian, chief judge of the SPC's Third Civil Division, noted increased demands on IP adjudication due to technological revolution and industrial transformation.

He said that over the past year, Chinese courts have strengthened the protection of technological innovation by efficiently handling IP disputes related to integrated circuits, industrial machine tools, high-end instruments, foundational software, advanced materials, and biomanufacturing.

Given the rapid pace of technological advancement and the complex nature of rights and ownership in fields like data and AI, he said that the top court has acted swiftly to clarify rules. "Our focus is on balancing data rights protection with development and utilization, safeguarding the legitimate rights of data resource holders, processors, users, and product operators, and promoting the integration of digital and real economies," he added.

Furthermore, by adhering to the principle of equally protecting litigants both domestically and internationally, courts across the country have increased their efforts to tackle foreign-related IP cases, striving to establish a preferred venue for resolving international disputes and enhancing global judicial credibility.

Courts nationwide accepted 11,066 foreign-related IP cases in 2025, a 34.1 percent increase from the previous year, enhancing global judicial credibility. High courts in Shanghai, Chongqing, and the provinces of Guangdong, Sichuan, and Hainan have signed cooperation agreements with the World Intellectual Property Organization to resolve foreign-related cases effectively.