China Launches First Blockchain IP Deposition Standard to Tackle AI Content Rights Challenges
Industry Pain Points Drive Need for a Unified Standard
With the deepening of the digital economy, especially the explosive growth of AI-Generated Content (AIGC), the volume of digital intellectual property has expanded dramatically. However, this field is plagued by chaotic practices, including a lack of unified standards for deposition processes, a mismatch between electronic evidence and judicial acceptance criteria, data compliance risks, and cross-platform data silos. These issues have created a difficult situation for businesses and individual creators, who face challenges in rights confirmation, evidence collection, and rights protection, severely hindering the value transformation of innovative achievements. Consequently, the industry urgently needs a standardized operational guide covering the entire process to promote healthy development.
First “All-Category + Full-Process” Specification Emerges
Against this backdrop, the group standard ‘Management Specification for Blockchain-Based Intellectual Property Deposition’ was created. Managed by the China Electronics Chamber of Commerce and drafted by the ZHSTANDARD, this is the nation’s first regulatory document to cover both “all categories of intellectual property” and “full-process deposition management.” Its scope includes not only traditional works like text, audio, and video but also specifically incorporates new types and key equity certificates such as AI-generated works, patent technical solutions, and evidence of trademark use. It aims to provide a standardized operational solution for the entire chain, from initiating deposition and fixing evidence to judicial connection. The drafting process for this standard has now begun, with an open call for drafting committee members and individuals from the public.
Blockchain Technology: The Cornerstone for Reshaping IP Protection
With its decentralized, tamper-proof, and traceable characteristics, blockchain technology offers an ideal technical solution to the difficulties in IP protection. [8] This technology can generate a unique and immutable “digital identity” (a hash value) for a digital work and record it on a distributed ledger, thereby providing powerful proof of existence, ownership, and integrity. [1] This mechanism is particularly suitable for AI-generated content with ambiguous ownership, as it can clearly record the entire process of its creation, modification, and circulation, providing highly credible evidentiary support for legal adjudication.
Empowering Stakeholders to Co-build a New Digital IP Ecosystem
The introduction of this standard will benefit multiple participants in the IP ecosystem. For content creators and AI enterprises, it provides a compliant and efficient tool for solidifying and protecting their work. For service providers like blockchain deposition platforms, it sets a professional service benchmark, enhancing industry credibility. For rights protection agencies such as IP agencies and legal services, it offers a unified basis for determining the validity of evidence, thereby improving the efficiency and success rate of rights protection. In the long run, a standardized deposition system will foster trust and collaboration among different entities, laying a solid foundation for building a healthy and orderly digital intellectual property ecosystem.
