Protecting copyrights, preserving classics, and giving old IPs an enduring vitality

With the widespread adoption of digitalization and AI technologies, online infringement and unauthorized derivative works pose a risk of loss to established classic IPs.

To improve the Intellectual Property system and solidify the long-term cultural value of the resources of the company, Huang Guangyu, chairman of the Board of Directors of Culturecom Group, has recently spearheaded a comprehensive upgrade to its copyright protection mechanism, systematically revitalizing decades of accumulated comic and cultural creative content assets.

Through legal rights confirmation, standardized authorization, and global operation, the company hopes to ensure the continuation of outstanding local cultural assets from generation to generation, keeping classic IPs relevant and transforming historical content into sustainable cultural value, he said.

At the same time, he stated that with the cumulative impact of AI technology on the content industry, the group will take "AI + IP" as its core strategy for future development and embark on a diversified path of "vertical cultural and creative AI".

Culturecom, a comic book publisher and media content provider operating in Hong Kong as well as as the Chinese mainland has accumulated half a century of cultural and creative resources, holding hundreds of classic copyrights such as Dragon Tiger Gate and Chinese Hero. It has embodied Hong Kong popular literature and the spirit of martial arts, representing a precious popular cultural asset in the Chinese-speaking world.

However, in the past, some existing copyright files were scattered and insufficiently digitized, leading to problems such as chaotic authorization, misuse and piracy, and one-off asset sales, according to Huang. “The cultural value has long been underestimated, making it difficult for excellent content to endure,” he added.

Under Huang vision, copyright is not merely viewed as a commercial asset, but also as a vehicle for inheriting cultural connotations. “Through licensed film and television production, animation, merchandise, and multilingual overseas distribution, old stories are adapted to the aesthetics of younger generations, achieving creative transformation and enduring relevance, allowing Hong Kong's local culture from the last century to continue to spread across time and regions,” he noted.

The chairman of the group stressed that copyright protection is about preserving cultural roots. According to him, backed by the nation and facing the world, Hong Kong, with its well-established copyright operation model, exports Hong Kong-style popular culture and traditional Chinese values to global Chinese communities through IP, ensuring the long-term inheritance of culture through the rule of law, allowing classics to transcend time and continue to generate social value and cultural influence.

He emphasized that, “only by guaranteeing original rights at the institutional level can subsequent revitalization, adaptation, and international expansion have a foundation.”

By establishing a sound copyright protection system, strictly adhering to creative bottom lines, and preserving the traditional spirit of chivalry and patriotism inherent in classic works, the aim is to prevent arbitrary distortion of content, Huang added. Relying on standardized licensing models, the focus shifts from short-term, one-off revenue to long-term, sustainable development, ensuring the continuation of the cultural essence of old IPs.

More importantly, with "AI + IP" as its core strategy, he said that, to be technology-driven, precisely connecting to the global market, Culturecom will build a dedicated AI-powered cultural IP creation and operation platform. On one hand, through AI image generation and intelligent storyboarding technologies, static comic IPs will be efficiently transformed into new media content such as animated shorts and digital comics, expected to increase IP content adaptation efficiency by over 60 percent. On the other hand, leveraging AI multimodal interaction technology, digital human images will be created for classic characters, expanding commercialization paths across all scenarios, including live streaming, virtual endorsements, and metaverse interactions.

He emphasized his confidence in the next 3 to 5 years of development, stating that the company will firmly adhere to its positioning as a "Hong Kong AI + Chinese Style IP Leader," fully transforming from a traditional comic publishing company into a technology-driven international IP cultural and creative group.

Huang mentioned in the future, the Group will continue to optimize the cross-border intellectual property cooperation mechanism, unite with mainland copyright service agencies, open up rights protection channels across the Taiwan Strait, Hong Kong, Macao and the world, use systems to ensure the inheritance of old IPs from generation to generation, safeguard the long-term continuation of culture with copyright, and tell the contemporary stories that belong to Hong Kong and Chinese culture.

Culturecom will leverage Hong Kong's international hub and the Greater Bay Area's industrial advantages to focus on cultural export, he said. “Through AI multilingual translation and cross-cultural adaptation technologies, it will precisely connect with Portuguese-speaking countries and the global market, creating an "Oriental Heroes" IP export matrix to help break the long-standing dominance of Japanese and American cultural and creative markets in the overseas market,” noted Huang.

Contact the writer at vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com