——Exclusive interview with WIPO Assistant Director General Mr. 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 Property 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 intersection of AI and IP, we invited Mr. Kenichiro Natsume, Assistant Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), to share his insights during the Forum.

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 opportunities and challenges AI presents for the IP system?

Natsume: IP has long served as a mechanism for supporting human creativity and innovation. The rapid evolution of AI makes it increasingly important to address its implications for the IP system.

WIPO is addressing the intersection of AI and IP through three key initiatives. First, WIPO serves as a platform 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 understanding of the issues.

Second, WIPO offers resources to help stakeholders navigate AI-related IP issues. One example is the publication of "Getting the Innovation Ecosystem Ready for AI: An IP policy toolkit," which helps policymakers explore key questions, such as whether AI can be an inventor and if AI-generated inventions should be patentable. WIPO is sharing information 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 capacity, supporting real companies and startups in IP management clinics and demonstrating the impact of IP. Through these initiatives, WIPO mentors small companies and startups 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 cooperation 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 positions and legal outcomes. Instead, WIPO facilitates open dialogue 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 patent 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 frameworks 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 creative fields, what has WIPO done to help member states address emerging IP challenges? How can Chinese musicians, players and innovators leverage these resources to protect their innovations?

Natsume: WIPO chose this theme because music resonates universally, providing an accessible gateway to explore IP. Music, like all creative fields, is influenced by technology, and IP plays a vital role in protecting these innovations. 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 significant contributions to the arts and music, it is crucial to remember that human creators remain the primary contributors to these fields. As such, WIPO recognizes the importance 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 musicians to better understand IP. These resources provide insights 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 technologies? What role do you think WIPO would play in promoting a more equitable and efficient global system?

Natsume: IP is the global safeguard of human innovation 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 information. 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 innovation. That's the fundamental role of IP.