Summary
The 2026 Annual Conference of the Asia-Pacific Copyright Association (APCA), hosted by the University of Auckland, was held in New Zealand on 27-28 October 2026 under the theme 'Innovation and Copyright in the Asia-Pacific Region'. More than 50 scholars from China, the United States, Germany, Japan, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, India, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR attended. Topics included the protection of folk culture, copyright protection for AI-generated works, digital platform rules, copyright protection in AI training, creator identity in the AI era, copyright markets and AI governance.
Associate Professor Zhang Jinping from the Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics presented a report in the digital platform rules session titled 'The Conflict Between Copyright and Privacy: Revisiting the US Supreme Court's Cox Case'. Zhang argued that the US Supreme Court failed to adequately consider the privacy protection considerations implicit in the 'termination of repeat infringers' provision of the DMCA safe harbour rules, incorrectly shifted the focus of the dispute to the subjective fault element in contributory infringement by digital platforms, and improperly narrowed the forms of platform contributory infringement. Zhang said the ruling is not conducive to incentivising digital platforms to assume more proactive copyright governance responsibilities in the future.
This was Associate Professor Zhang's third invitation to the APCA Annual Conference to give a thematic presentation. His ongoing and in-depth discussions with Asia-Pacific scholars on frontier copyright protection issues have promoted academic exchange in related fields.
Commentary
The APCA Annual Conference in Auckland, focusing on AI and digital platform copyright issues, offers New Zealand small and medium-sized business owners a window into the direction of regional intellectual property governance. Associate Professor Zhang's analysis of the Cox case reveals the oscillation of US jurisprudence between platform liability and user privacy, a warning for New Zealand firms that rely on digital platforms to conduct business. As a country with a relatively well-developed copyright regime, New Zealand introduced a 'notice-and-takedown' mechanism into its Copyright Act in 2020, but existing rules remain lagging in the face of AI-generated content and platform algorithmic recommendations.
Copyright rules in the Asia-Pacific are fragmented: China takes an open approach to the copyrightability of AI-generated works, while Australia places greater emphasis on human authorship. Such differences may increase compliance costs for cross-border content trade. New Zealand SMEs involved in exporting digital content, software or creative products need to monitor differences in how various jurisdictions treat platform liability and AI copyright to avoid disputes arising from conflicting rules.
The US Supreme Court's narrow interpretation of the 'repeat infringers' provision in the Cox case may weaken platforms' proactive monitoring obligations, while the EU's Digital Services Act tends to strengthen platform liability. This cross-regional tension will affect the operating strategies of global digital service providers. New Zealand firms should assess their role in the platform ecosystem: as content uploaders, they need to understand that platforms may reduce proactive review due to privacy concerns, thereby increasing infringement risk; as platform operators, they need to balance user data protection with copyright compliance obligations.
As a regional academic exchange platform, the APCA Annual Conference's discussions may inform legislative references in various countries, and New Zealand firms can participate in relevant dialogue through industry associations to plan their compliance frameworks in advance.
Keywords: APCA Annual Conference, Zhang Jinping, copyright and privacy, digital platform rules, AI copyright, Cox case, DMCA safe harbour rules, University of Auckland, academic exchange, Law School of the Central University of Finance and Economics
Photo by TheDigitalArtist on Pixabay
Source: School of Law, Central University of Finance and Economics
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