Symposium explores copyright protection of traditional cultural heritage

The International Symposium on Intellectual Property and Traditional Cultural Expressions opened on Tuesday in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, bringing together nearly 400 participants from more than 30 countries to discuss how to safeguard cultural heritage in the age of artificial intelligence and establish a fair governance system amid cross-border exchanges.

Jointly organized by China's National Copyright Administration and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the symposium attracted representatives from intellectual property authorities, academia and the folklore industry.

Participants called for stronger copyright protection, greater integration between culture and related industries, and digital empowerment to promote cultural innovation in an era of rapid digitalization and increasingly frequent cross-border exchanges.

They also emphasized the need to deepen international cooperation and explore more effective approaches to protecting traditional cultural expressions through copyright, highlighting the importance of collective efforts to address challenges arising from their transmission and use across borders.

Folklore embodies the cultural DNA and spiritual aspirations of nations while also constituting a shared spiritual heritage of humanity, participants said.

WIPO Assistant Director General Edward Kwakwa said China is rich in traditional cultural expressions and praised Fuzhou's efforts to protect, inherit and revitalize folk arts through copyright.

During a visit and inspection on Monday, Kwakwa said he was deeply impressed by how Fuzhou has leveraged its rich local cultural heritage to explore practical approaches to protecting and revitalizing traditional folk arts through copyright systems.

His observations reflect the Chinese government's support for local enterprises in using intellectual property rights, particularly copyrights, to protect and promote traditional Chinese cultural expressions, he said.

Kwakwa expressed hope that participants would engage in open and candid discussions to jointly explore the challenges, opportunities and pathways for protecting traditional cultural expressions at the international level.