On the evening of June 25, 2026, Renmin University of China Law School, Renmin Law and Technology Institute successfully hosted an academic lecture entitled “Internet Platforms and the Rise of Intellectual Property Protection in China” in Room 725 of the Mingde Law Building. The lecture featured Professor QiaoShitong , Chair Professor at Duke University School of Law, as the keynote speaker. The event was moderated by Professor Ding Xiaodong, Vice Dean of  Renmin University of China Law School. The discussants included Professor Cui Guobin, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Law; Associate Professor Shen Weiwei, Director of the Center for Law and Big Data and Artificial Intelligence at China University of Political Science and Law; Professor Wan Yong, Vice Dean of the School of Law at Renmin University of China; Professor Zhang Jiyu, Executive Director of the Renmin Law and Technology Institute; and Professor Xiong Bingwan, Director of the Civil and Commercial Law Division at Renmin University of China Law School.

Professor Shitong Qiao proposed a framework for understanding platforms as enforcement infrastructure, identifying three conditions necessary for such a model to operate. He further examined the costs and limits associated with this model.

QiaoShitong , Chair Professor at Duke University School of Law

Professor Cui Guobin, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Law, focused on the conceptual question of what is distinctive about the notion of a “platform.”

Cui Guobin, Dean of Tsinghua University School of Law

Associate Professor Shen Weiwei of China University of Political Science and Law drew on the four-factor analytical framework set out in Code 2.0—law, technology, markets, and social norms—and approached the issue primarily from the perspectives of markets and social norms.

Shen Weiwei, Associate Professor of China University of Political Science and Law

Professor Wan Yong, Vice Dean Renmin University of China Law School, observed, with reference to the history of relevant industries and surveys conducted in his teaching, that the decline in piracy was driven primarily not by aggressive litigation, but by reductions in costs brought about by innovations in business models.

Wan Yong, Vice Dean Renmin University of China Law School

Professor Zhang Jiyu, Executive Director of the Renmin Law and Technology Institute, highlighted the study’s valuable contribution in incorporating platforms’ long-term strategic profitability and competitive position into the cost-benefit analysis.

Zhang Jiyu, Executive Director of the Renmin Law and Technology Institute

Professor Xiong Bingwan, Director of the Civil and Commercial Law Division of Renmin University of China Law School, sought to reconstruct the three conditions through a two-dimensional framework of “enforcement incentives–enforcement capacity.”

Xiong Bingwan, Director of the Civil and Commercial Law Division of Renmin University of China Law School

Professor Shitong Qiao responded openly and constructively to the comments and questions raised throughout the discussion.

In his concluding remarks, Professor Ding Xiaodong noted that the lecture provided an instructive example of how to unpack the mechanisms underlying the emergence of a particular phenomenon.

Ding Xiaodong, Vice Dean of  Renmin University of China Law School