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Author	Prof Huimiao ZHAO
Organisation/Institution	Beijing University of Chemical Technology, College of Arts and Law
Country	CHINA
Panel	Law and Economic Development
Title	Balancing Innovation and Protection: Rethinking Data Rights in Digital Economy from Chinese Perspective
Abstract	In the digital economy era, data has become the ‘new oil’, an indispensable factor of production. This transformation has ignited extensive debates on data rights. In China, the judiciary predominantly safeguards data rights via anti-unfair competition law, intellectual property law and contract law. A contentious debate, however, persists within legal academia regarding whether to confirm explicit property rights to data-centric enterprises, who rely heavily on data as a critical competitive asset. This paper argues that the priority should not be too hastily confirm data property rights to enterprise through legislation when the rationale, contents and legal frameworks for these rights are still undefined. Explicit property rights may be unnecessary if the current legal framework adequately safeguards data rights and interests. It advocates for a phased approach to data protection, aligning with evolving industrial policies and market needs. At this stage, the option theory could address the protection of holders of intial-stage data and those with high-level or value-added data. This approach aims to balance protecting data rights with fostering innovation and competition in burgeoning digital economy.
Biography	Huimiao Zhao is a Professor at the College of Humanities and Law, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, and the Executive Director of the Institute of Law and Intellectual Property at the same university. She holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Hong Kong and was a visiting scholar at UCLA. Dr. Zhao serves as a director of the Bankruptcy Law Research Association of the Beijing Law Society, a researcher at the Bankruptcy Law and Corporate Restructuring Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, and a judicial affairs expert at the Beijing Equity Exchange. Her research focuses on corporate law and bankruptcy law. Dr. Zhao has authored an English monograph published by Cambridge University Press and has published several papers in Chinese and international journals, including American Bankruptcy Law Journal (SSCI), Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (SCI), and Hong Kong Law Journal (SSCI). Currently, she leads multiple research projects funded by the National Social Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Education Social Science Foundation, and the Beijing Social Science Foundation.