A Shanghai slingshot for overseas expansion

Data protection key

Against this backdrop, data has become the buzzword when it comes to overseas expansion. However, when a company finds its data has been infringed on or leaked in an overseas market, its competitiveness is significantly impaired and losses are hard to measure.

The confirmation of data ownership is of great importance before a company expands into a new market, said Zuo Weibo, CEO of CRECT Group, which helps companies expand into overseas markets, especially in Southeast Asia.

Shanghai-based Hero Esports has experience in securing its IPR in foreign markets.

Founded in 2016, it has held a number of e-sports games' IPRs in overseas markets including Vietnam, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

Prior to the launch of Shanghai's data product IPR registration pilot program in December 2024, it was unclear how data could be registered to secure the company's interests, said Zhou Peipei, director of the company's legal and investment center.

"As e-sports games have become more popular, problems regarding data scraping, licensing boundaries and trade secret protection have all emerged. No company can tackle them single-handedly," she said.

"Companies need an official definition or confirmation as to the scope, development process and ownership of these data-driven outcomes. Otherwise, subsequent research and development, potential commercial collaborations and even internal management will be hampered," she added.

The pilot program helped the industry raise awareness of compliance and self-discipline, said Zhou.

Registered information can serve as key material for companies to assert their data rights in future infringement or trade secret disputes. Prosecutors are also involved, offering businesses quick access to expert advice on data ownership and privacy compliance, she explained.

"With the program connecting compliance, rights confirmation, legal protection and future data use, companies are more confident turning long-accumulated data into real innovation," said Zhou.

Data registration has been applauded by the AI, biomedicine, finance, education, culture and transportation industries, said Zhu Yanting, technology director of VLVE Information Technology, a service provider to technology companies.

The system is also directly linked to data trading institutions in Shanghai, so IPR certificates can be used as collateral to apply for bank loans. Data's value as an intangible asset has become clearer, Zhu said.

Shanghai's data product IPR registration is open to other places in China. By the end of July, the city had received 2,245 applications for data product IP registration.

Thirty percent of applications were from outside Shanghai. Data products registration applications came from 29 provincial-level regions. An application has yet to come from the Xizang autonomous region.