On July 28, the Intellectual Property Office of Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu Administration for Market Regulation, and Jiangsu Copyright Administration jointly issued the Jiangsu Guidelines on Intellectual Property Compliance for AI-Powered OPCs (Su Zhi Fa [2026] No. 42, hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”). The Guidelines represent a concrete step by Jiangsu’s intellectual property (IP) authorities to implement the Jiangsu “AI+” Action Plan and the Several Measures of Jiangsu Province to Support the Innovative Development of AI-Powered OPCs. As China’s first provincial-level IP compliance guidelines dedicated to OPCs, they also mark a milestone in developing a comprehensive IP compliance framework for AI-powered OPCs in Jiangsu.

OPC (One-Person Company) is an emerging business model in the AI era characterized by “one-person operation, multi-party collaboration, rapid iteration, and agile innovation.” Such companies often face challenges including limited understanding of applicable rules, insufficient awareness of IP protection, and limited enforcement capabilities across areas such as trademark portfolio planning, patent protection, ownership of AI-generated content (AIGC), trade secret protection, and training data compliance. The Guidelines provide these businesses with a comprehensive, specific and practical manual for IP compliance and risk prevention.

The Guidelines address compliance management throughout the lifecycle of trademarks, patents, copyright, trade secrets, and data-related IP. Tailored to the characteristics and needs of AI-powered OPCs, the document sets out a clear framework for protection: trademarks protect brands; patents protect technological innovations; copyright protects original content; trade secrets protect undisclosed technical and business information; and data IP protects legitimate interests in data.

The Guidelines also include a dedicated chapter on generative AI, detailing compliance requirements throughout the commercial use of AIGC. Before using AI-generated content, businesses must verify the scope of authorization for commercial use. Content made publicly available must be clearly labeled as AI-generated, while complete records of prompts, iterative revisions and other relevant information must be kept. Additionally, a pathway for protecting datasets developed by AI-powered OPCs is outlined. Businesses may register their datasets free of charge through Jiangsu’s provincial data IP registration system, with registration certificates renewable upon expiry of their three-year validity period. Given the lean operating model of OPCs, the Guidelines further specify that the legal representative of an OPC bears primary responsibility for IP compliance. Rather than replicating the complex management systems typically adopted by medium-sized and large enterprises, OPCs may establish streamlined compliance records to coordinate daily IP management.