The internet IP of things

We asked intellectual property inhouse counsel about the challenges in their work and what they see as the most significant legal developments

Helen Gu is the general counsel at Sina Corporation. Here she shares her views on the challenges and appropriate measures that in-house teams of internet enterprises should be adopting to stay ahead of the curve on IP infringement and enforcement

CBLJ: What challenges do internet enterprises face in the intellectual property field?

Helen Gu: The first major challenge, as compared with traditional enterprises, is the greater complexity of intellectual property protection for internet enterprises.First, as innovation is one of the key features of internet enterprises, with the arrival of the artificial intelligence age, the coming of more new IP legal issues is unavoidable, for example the legal characterization of artificial intelligence “works”, the line of demarcation between fair market competition and abnormal competition between internet enterprises, and so on.

Second, the ways and means of transmitting internet IP are much more varied and numerous, resulting in a greater variety of means and methods of IP infringement, requiring us to adapt to new changes and respond to and prevent new forms of infringement at a moment’s notice. As for those vaguely defined regions, while acting in lockstep with the business frontline, it is also necessary to thoroughly analyze laws, regulations and relevant policies in a timely manner to provide legal support against IP infringements, as this is the only way to forcefully hit back against acts of infringement.