On 3 November 2022, Asia Domain Name Dispute Resolution Center (ADNDRC), along with China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission, organized the Webninar “ADNDRC @ 20: DNDR in the Digital Economy”. HKIAC, ICANN and CNNIC, etc. were the supporting organizations.
Prof. Xue gave a keynote speech on Rejuvenation of ADR in Digital Economy. She raised that ADR should be reinterpreted from the original meaning, making it Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted smart dispute resolution to fit the need of digital economy. In her keynote speech, Prof. Xue said the ADR coverage and scope of proceedings have been augmented in the new laws like EU DSM Directive or Digital Service Act, automated procedural management will entirely replace human to create more efficient proceedings, and autonomous discovery could be widely adopted to assist the adjudicator to make more precise and solid decisions. In Prof. Xue’s belief, the AI-enabled, augmented and automated disputed resolution would become the mainstream dispute resolution in digital economy. More than 530,000 audience from 41 countries watched the Webinar.
Reforming Intellectual Property brings together 19 of the world’s leading scholars in the field to offer their unique insight into the future of intellectual property. Providing a diverse array of perspectives on the most pressing reforms needed in the current IP regime, whether in terms of legislation at national and international levels, or interpretation of existing law, this exceptional book highlights the key issues in this area and sets out an agenda for future research and policy. Prof. Xue’s wrote the Chapter on “Copyright on digital platforms: shifting paradigms” and explored the new trends of copyright protection measures with the evolution of digital economy.
24 September 2022, Professor Xue was invited to give a keynote speech on “AI-assisted Domain Name Dispute Resolution Mechanisms” at the 2nd International Conference on AI and Judicial Big Data, co-organized by Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Hubei High People’s Court. Prof. Xue discussed the ethical issue in deployment of AI in judicial proceedings and suggested that ADR (like domain name dispute resolution mechanism) may be more suitable area to implement pilot AI systems. AI may provide effective proceeding management for domain name dispute resolution, including receiving and servicing the Parties’ files, verifying the Parties’ identities and organizing cross examination. AI selection of adjudicators may considerably minimize the bias and prejudice and better serve the goals of independence and impartiality. Although AI cannot substitute the adjudicators’ judgement and discretion, it can be very valuable to verify the basic facts such as the information of the Applicant’s trademark registration and/or the Respondent’s domain name registration. It can help the adjudicators to complete the fact checking in the expedited proceedings. Domain name dispute resolution mechanism that is already networked, digitized and standardized can easily adapt to automation powered by AI. In addition, its characteristic of non-exclusive to judicial remedy is another layer of guarantee for AI pilot implementation.
The 10th Asia-Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum (APTFF) co-organized by ADB and UNESCAP with Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry was held on 29 August to 1 September 2020 in Singapore. The Forum focused on how trade facilitation should evolve to enhance the resilience of international supply chains in times of pandemic and to better support sustainable economic recovery and development in the Asia-Pacific region. The Forum explored how trade digitalization and emerging technologies can be used to ensure that new generation trade facilitation measures are inclusive and sustainable, enabling effective participation of SMEs and less developed economies in international trade. As the leading regional platform for the exchange of good practices and knowledge on trade facilitation, the Forum attracted over 250 on-site participants from over 30 countries and hundreds of remote participants.
At the end of the Forum, the UNESCAP held the UNNExT Advisory Committee Meeting to discuss the future development of the Forum and the other recommendations and plans on trade facilitation. The experts from China, Korea, India, Philippines, Azerbaijan, etc. joined the meeting and presented their views. Prof. Xue as one of the founding experts of the Committee emphasized the importance of promoting the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-Border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific that has been effective since 2020 and 8 Member States by August 2022. Prof. Xue also introduced the new Model Law on ID management and trust service developed by UNCITRAL and its potential impacts on digital trade identity as an international legal mechanism. Although the COVID pandemic still disables international travels in some parts of the world, everyone believed that the digital trade facilitation would benefit the Asia-Pacific trade that was largely robust and growing.