Insights

On 23 October the World Intellectual Property Organization published a study on AI training and copyright that sets out five choices countries still have to make (news). While the rules on training are debated, many brands already use AI every day for product shots, lifestyle images, packaging and listing copy, including on Chinese marketplaces. The practical questions are more immediate: does that content have copyright, who owns it, can you act when someone copies it in China, and could using it get you into trouble? This article sets out how Chinese courts have answered so far and how that differs from the United States. It is general information; a specific case needs professional advice.

On 27 October China's National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published a list of 29 proposed national GI protection demonstration zones, open for comment until 2 November (news). The zones are showcases for how regions manage their geographical indications. For a foreign food, wine or spirits producer, the practical questions are different: how can our own regional name be protected in China, which Chinese GI names can we not use, and what may we still say about origin on labels and product pages? China protects geographical indications through two parallel systems. This article explains both and how foreign GIs get in. It sets out general rules; a specific case needs professional advice.

The African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) reported on 29 October that, on 26 October at the Ottawa headquarters of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), OAPI Director General Denis Bohoussou and CIPO President Konstantinos Georgaras signed the two offices' 2026-2027 annual work plan and officially launched the guide Protéger votre propriété intellectuelle dans l'espace OAPI (Protecting your intellectual property in the OAPI area).

Who the guide is for

According to OAPI, the guide is a practical information and awareness tool for innovators, researchers, creators, entrepreneurs, SMEs and project promoters who want to secure and exploit their IP in OAPI's 17 member states.

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) published Avoiding fake beauty products for businesses on 30 October. Developed with the beauty and salon industry, the guide is aimed at salons, practitioners and businesses selling beauty products, to help them avoid using and selling counterfeits and report illicit sellers. It is practical guidance and creates no new legal duties, but it reminds businesses that selling counterfeit products is already illegal and that selling or using them can lead to a Trading Standards investigation and legal repercussions.

China's National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published a notice on 27 October proposing to approve 29 national geographical indication (GI) protection demonstration zones, led by Chadian Muscat Hamburg grapes, with public comment open from 27 October to 2 November. The list follows the trial measures on GI product protection demonstration zones and went through self-assessment, provincial evaluation and an overall review. Objections can be raised with CNIPA by phone, fax or email during the notice period, with the objector's name given.

The President of the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) decided on 9 October (OJ EPO 2026, A54, published on 30 October) that oral proceedings before a Board of Appeal may be audio recorded and, with the assistance of artificial intelligence, transcribed and processed to prepare the minutes. The decision enters into force on 1 November and applies to oral proceedings scheduled on or after that date, replacing a 2007 notice on sound-recording devices in oral proceedings.