Intl copyright expo and forum open in Qingdao

The 10th China International Copyright Expo and the 2025 International Copyright Forum opened in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Thursday, bringing together more than 1,100 companies from 57 exhibition groups to showcase the latest achievements in digital and intelligent innovation across the global copyright industry.

Jointly organized by the National Copyright Administration of China and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the three-day event is themed "Digital Intelligence Leads the Future, Copyright Promotes Innovative Development".

Spanning about 50,000 square meters, it highlights the digital transformation of copyright creation, protection, management, and services, while underscoring the sector's contribution to building China into a cultural powerhouse.

On the opening day, the expo hosted a variety of cultural exchange events, roadshows, and promotional activities. It also hosts the 2025 International Copyright Forum, which gathers over 400 domestic and international experts.

During the forum, the NCAC and the WIPO jointly presented the 2025 WIPO–NCAC Awards. Six outstanding works, including the book My Altay, the animated film Ne Zha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea (Ne Zha 2), and the video game Black Myth: Wukong, received the Awards for Creativity.

A special exhibition was launched during the three-day expo by the NCAC, featuring six sections on legal safeguards, rights protection, industrial development, international cooperation, public education, and storytelling - illustrating China's progress in copyright governance and innovation.

Since its launch in 2008, the China International Copyright Expo has been held biennially in several cities including Beijing, Guangzhou of Guangdong province, Suzhou of Jiangsu province.

The expo has become an important platform for showcasing copyright achievements, energizing copyright trade, promoting the transformation of copyright value, and facilitating exchanges between Chinese and foreign copyrights.

As the host city of the 10th session, Qingdao has emerged as a national model in copyright innovation and protection. In 2019, the city was rated as one of China's top-performing cities in intellectual property creation and utilization. In 2024, its innovative mechanism linking administrative enforcement with criminal justice was selected as a national model case for advancing copyright governance.

Qingdao's copyright economy has also seen strong growth. The city's digital music copyright transactions exceeded 40 million yuan ($5.6 million) in 2024, while it's China Movie Metropolis, has generated nearly 40 billion yuan in box office revenue.

In April, Qingdao introduced a set of film industry support policies, offering subsidies of up to 5 million yuan for film copyright development. The city also provides free copyright registration services, with over 200,000 works registered in the past two years.

Caption: The 10th China International Copyright Expo and the 2025 International Copyright Forum opens in Qingdao, Shandong province, on Thursday.