Event Details
On 25 August 2026, Alibaba Group and the SMU Centre for Digital Law (CDL) co-organised a half-day seminar on Copyright in the Digital Age: Balancing Creativity, Innovation and Access at SMU, bringing together leading IP practitioners, legal tech advisors, and industry experts to examine how AI and new forms of digital content distribution are shaping legal principles and copyright law.
The seminar opened with welcome remarks by SMU YPHSL Dean Prof Lee Pey Woan. We were privileged to have Mr Joseph Andersen, Senior Director of International Government Affairs and Head of Global Technology Policy at Alibaba Group, as our keynote speaker. Mr Andersen delivered an insightful address on the evolving landscape of copyright, AI, and digital innovation.
The first panel, AI on Trial: Deconstructing AI Litigation in the U.S., examined key legal arguments, judicial trends, and the broader implications of AI-related copyright disputes. The panel was moderated by Daniel Dougherty (Alibaba International), and featured Angela Dunning (Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP) and Felicia Boyd (Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP).
The second panel, Making Waves: How Lazada, MPA/ACE, and INTERPOL are Disrupting ISDs and Streams of Pirated Content, explored copyright enforcement and content protection in the digital environment. The panel was moderated by Jeff Zhao (Alibaba International), and featured Dawn Barriteau (Motion Picture Association), Joyce Ang (Alibaba International), Mok Ho Fai (Motion Picture Association), and Sungjin Hong (INTERPOL).
The seminar concluded with closing remarks by SMU CDL Director Assoc Prof Jason Grant Allen, who highlighted the importance of continued collaboration across law, technology, industry, and policy as copyright law adapts to the challenges of AI and digital content.
We extend our sincere thanks to Alibaba for co-organising this seminar with us, and to all speakers, moderators, panellists, and participants for their valuable contributions to this important conversation on AI, copyright, innovation, and access.
