Digital Without Borders, Crossing Mountains and Seas; Open and Symbiotic, Towards the Future

Supported by Knowledge, Moving Toward Innovation – The 2026 Global Digital Economy Conference Concludes

With an AI-powered musical handheld instrument, audiences could hum a melody or express an emotion into the microphone and generate a complete song; with an intelligent diagnostic device boasting multiple independent intellectual property rights, visitors could experience "AI + Traditional Chinese Medicine" diagnostics on-site... The digital economy is no longer an abstract, distant concept, but is vividly embodied in every live digital achievement release and every exclamation of wonder from the audience.

From July 2 to 5, the 2026 Global Digital Economy Conference (hereinafter referred to as "the Conference"), themed "Building Digital-Friendly Cities – Smart Benefits Without Borders, Digital Connectivity Across the Globe," was held in Beijing. The main forum and various thematic forums attracted over 10,000 domestic and international guests, cumulatively drew more than 3,000 enterprises for exchanges, hosted 80,000 in-person attendees, and released over 200 achievements. Participating guests engaged in in-depth discussions on topics including artificial intelligence, digital governance, and intellectual property, pooling wisdom and efforts to build an inclusive, trustworthy, and sustainable global digital future.

Strengthening the Foundation of Protection to Make Digital Technological Innovation More Friendly

The core connotation of the "Digital-Friendly" concept is the coordinated and sustainable development of human-centered production and life, alongside a trusted data-driven digital ecosystem. Strengthening intellectual property (IP) protection is a crucial part of promoting digital governance and implementing the digital-friendly philosophy.

At the thematic forum "Intellectual Property Empowering the Development of New Quality Productive Forces" held during the Conference, attendees unanimously agreed that developing the digital economy is of great significance and a strategic choice for seizing opportunities presented by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation. Intellectual property serves as the fundamental institutional guarantee for safeguarding innovative achievements and revitalizing sci-tech innovation elements. They gathered to jointly explore new rules and pathways for IP protection in the digital economy, releasing typical IP protection cases and sharing protection experiences.

A Beijing-based chip R&D and manufacturing enterprise had 260 invention patent applications pre-examined by the Beijing Intellectual Property Protection Center and received rapid authorization. The comprehensive patent portfolio facilitated the enterprise's successful listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market). Through the "batch pre-examination + batch substantive examination" joint service mechanism launched by the Beijing Intellectual Property Protection Center, 17 patent applications from Tsinghua University related to large-model hardware-software cross-layer collaborative technologies were quickly authorized, facilitating their use as capital contributions for share increases... These typical cases of national-level IP protection centers empowering the digital economy vividly illustrate China's efforts to strengthen IP protection in the digital domain.

In recent years, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has empowered the digital economy industry from multiple aspects. First, it has improved the institutional framework to solidify the foundation for digital economy development. This includes revising the Trademark Law and Patent Examination Guidelines, issuing guidelines for invention patent applications related to artificial intelligence, and refining relevant examination policies and standards. It has also constructed rules for data IP protection and established a unified national registration platform. Second, it has intensified IP protection to create a collaborative and efficient innovation environment. Green channels for patent priority examination and centralized examination have been opened to serve IP creation in key areas. A total of 137 national-level IP protection centers and rapid rights protection centers have been established, providing "one-stop" IP services for key sectors including the digital economy. Third, it has strengthened industrial empowerment to activate the momentum of new quality productive forces. Focusing on the digital economy, support has been provided for the construction of 18 national-level industry IP operation centers.

During the review of a series of copyright infringement cases in the digital education sector, the Beijing procuratorate effectively responded to the characteristics of "small individual infringement amounts, large total volume, and wide dissemination" in the digital environment, providing clear legal references for the legal characterization of new infringement methods such as "split sales of accounts." In reviewing a copyright infringement case in the digital music industry, the Hebei procuratorate accurately calculated the amount of crime by verifying music copyright authorization and excluding inflated data, effectively deterring the sale of infringing digital products on online platforms... Procuratorial IP work is a vital part of the IP protection system. At the thematic forum, a representative from the Supreme People's Procuratorate called for procuratorial organs to continuously strengthen research and guidance on frontier issues such as artificial intelligence, embodied intelligence, and data IP. Emphasis should be placed on digital empowerment, promoting the extension of individual case handling to class case supervision and social governance, improving the coordination between administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, and fostering cross-regional procuratorial collaboration to create a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized first-class business environment.

Promoting the development of the digital economy is a global issue. "The vitality of the digital economy stems from the orderly flow of data, while the core of the IP system lies in safeguarding the exclusive rights of right holders. By clarifying data property rights regimes to regulate the construction of data markets, we can both fully protect the investment outcomes of various data subjects and promote the compliant and reasonable opening of data," noted Francis Gurry, Deputy Chair of the World Internet Conference and Chair of the Global Digital Economy Cities Alliance. In his view, IP should be a propeller for the digital economy, and its institutional system needs to undergo digital transformation. In the future, efforts must be made to coordinate the development of data circulation and IP protection, fully unleash the digital economy value embedded in IP, foster a fair competitive environment through digital inclusivity, and call on countries to jointly build interconnected, interoperable digital IP infrastructure and collaboratively improve the global innovation protection system.

Building a Sound Ecosystem to Make New Digital Business Models More Inclusive

The digital economy is not merely a new track for industrial innovation and competition, but also a common cause that benefits the public. Statistics show that the 2026 Digital Economy Industry Expo, held concurrently with the Conference, attracted over 15,000 visitors. The Expo closely followed the core theme of "Digital-Friendly Cities" and featured six specialized exhibition zones. Notably, the Global OPC (One-Person Company) Co-Creation Festival was launched for the first time at this Expo. The zone set up small booths specifically for independent creators and simultaneously offered 24 free hands-on AI workshops. Many entrepreneurs, relying solely on a computer and low R&D costs, were able to produce their own self-developed intelligent sensing hardware, providing a new landing channel for lightweight innovation and enabling them to "come with a computer and leave with results."

Currently, there is explosive growth in "asset-light, intellect-heavy" OPCs. However, many entrepreneurs are relatively unfamiliar with IP protection, often facing inadequate protection in the early stages and high subsequent enforcement costs. In response, the OPC community serves as a "cradle" and "harbor" for entrepreneurial growth, providing IP protection support.

"Services such as legal consulting and intellectual property protection are available," read the prominent compliance service information on the display board of the Yirencheng OPC Ecological Community from Haidian District, Beijing, at the Global OPC Co-Creation Festival zone. Qu Zheng, a staff member at the booth, told reporters that the community focuses on providing full-chain services for OPCs. The community places great importance on IP protection. On one hand, it utilizes professional IP service institutions to actively provide guidance on IP application for OPC entrepreneurs; on the other hand, it timely introduces the district's "policy package" supporting OPCs in enhancing R&D and innovation and providing IP incentives.

"We have helped related enterprises register over 10 software copyrights," said Tang Zhongxin, Enterprise Service Manager at the Zhongguancun AI Beiwei Community. The community, which has housed over 70 OPCs since launching the "AI OPC Service Plan" in late 2025, actively hosts IP-themed events under the guidance of the Haidian District Market Supervision Administration (District IP Bureau) and with the support of the Capital Intellectual Property Services Association. These events directly address the IP challenges encountered in business operations, helping enterprises achieve stable and long-term development on their innovation journey.

Digital technology demonstrates not only hardcore breakthroughs but also warmth for people's livelihoods. At the digital application exhibition zone of the Beijing Digital and Intelligent Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry Research Institute, the "AI + Traditional Chinese Medicine" hardcore technological achievements were centrally displayed, with audiences frequently queuing up for experiences. "The cutting-edge technologies we exhibit, including large models, multi-modal perception, and infrared imaging, all possess independent intellectual property rights. Among them, relevant achievements have already achieved large-scale transformation and application, significantly improving diagnostic efficiency and benefiting more patients," a staff member at the institute's booth introduced.

AI + Factory, AI + Music, AI + Education, AI + Healthcare... The series of activities at this Conference consistently conveyed a clear signal: the development direction of artificial intelligence should not be limited to technological leadership, but should move towards a more inclusive, secure, and warm digital future. Data is not cold. With the continuous improvement of digital governance and the deepening of IP protection, data and technology will become warmer, driving more technology to return to a human-centered approach and benefit the public.