Shanghai Grants First IP Certificate for Virtual Idol Voice Dataset

The Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration has issued an intellectual property registration certificate to Bilibili for its "Luo Tianyi Audio Dataset," marking the city's first formal data-product IP registration for a fully virtual singer. Granted under Shanghai's interim data registration regulations, the certificate recognizes the dataset as an original commercial product resulting from substantial processing and innovative labor. The move aims to curb unauthorized generative AI voice cloning by establishing upstream rights and providing preliminary judicial evidence for future infringement claims.

The rapid spread of generative AI voice synthesis has made vocal timbres easy to scrape, train on, and clone with minimal cost. Because traditional copyright frameworks historically struggled to define ownership over synthetic vocal timbres detached from specific musical compositions, Shanghai's issuance of an IP certificate for a curated virtual singer dataset creates an operational precedent. Establishing "substantial processing" and "innovative labor" as benchmarks allows tech companies to establish prima facie evidence of data property ownership, lowering litigation and enforcement costs against unauthorized AI training.

The Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration has granted an intellectual property registration certificate to Shanghai Bilibili Technology Co., Ltd. for its "Luo Tianyi Audio Dataset," state news agency Xinhua reported. The filing represents an intellectual property registration specifically targeted at an audio data product derived from a fully virtual human. Luo Tianyi, launched in Shanghai in 2012, is a well-known Chinese virtual vocalist operated by Bilibili. Over more than a decade, the character has relied on voice synthesis technologies to generate singing audio, gradually extending her presence into commercial music composition, stage performances, and live-streaming interactions. According to officials, the registered audio dataset was developed through the systematic collection, annotation, and acoustic calibration of her distinctive vocal timbre. Chen Huiqing, deputy director of Shanghai's Yangpu District Market Supervision Administration, stated that the dataset exhibits originality and commercial value. Chen noted that the product satisfies the statutory standards of "substantial processing" and "innovative labor" set out in the Shanghai Interim Measures for Intellectual Property Registration and Deposition of Data Products. The regulatory milestone comes amid growing industry scrutiny over generative artificial intelligence, which has enabled rapid and unauthorized cloning of signature voice profiles. Officials pointed out that under existing judicial precedents, a data product intellectual property registration certificate can serve as preliminary evidence that a rights holder possesses legitimate property interests in data and that the underlying collection methods were lawful. Such documentation is intended to lower the burden of proof and litigation costs when enterprises confront infringement. Chen added that the registration establishes a practical template for digital asset protection. By shifting the rights-confirmation process upstream, the mechanism aims to clarify ownership early, providing administrative and legal backing before disputes escalate. Looking ahead, Bilibili plans to seek intellectual property registration for an even more granular "speech corpus unit library" tied to Luo Tianyi, according to Zhu Yao, the company's senior legal director. Zhu indicated the enterprise intends to further explore tiered paths for confirming rights over virtual human voice data.