Metrological Analysis of Intellectual Property Protection Research Literature in the Era of the Digital Economy—Based on CSSCI (1998-2020) Data

Yuan Chengyang,Gao Liang

(Intellectual Property Research Institute,University of Science and Technology of China,Hefei 230026,China)

Abstract: In the context of the trends of ” globalization” and ” anti-globalization” , effective intellectual property protection in the era of the digital economy is conducive to enhancing the core competitiveness of a country. It is of great significance to understand the development history of China” s intellectual property protection research and explore the road of intellectual property protection in the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics to improve the country” s regional innovation capacity and develop the digital economy.In this paper,CiteSpace software is used to analyze literature samples of 1087 publications on intellectual property protection research topics in CSSCI journals from 1998 to 2020. The research basis, path, hot spots, and trends are analyzed utilizing basic literature description,co-citation analysis,and keyword analysis.The results show the following.Firstly,research on intellectual property protection is a hot research trend. Secondly, the research objects, methods, and perspectives of intellectual property protection are closely linked to the development of the research era. Finally, In the era of the digital economy to enhance the innovation capacity of different regions in China,the protection of intellectual property rights should consider the development trends of ” localization” , ” characteristics” , ” diversification” and” internationalization” ,and the protection intensity of intellectual property rights should be moderate.

Keywords:intellectual property protection;evolution;hot spots;trend

1 Introduction

The world has undergone unprecedented changes in the past century, and international competition increasingly emphasizes the importance of intellectual property rights, making protecting intellectual property rights a focus of attention. Intellectual property protection protects the legitimate rights and interests of intellectual property owners in the era of the digital economy. Academic circles worldwide have carried conducted studies on intellectual property protection[1]. Intellectual property protection is closely related to the digital economy, green innovation, and coordinated regional development. Under the new development concept, appropriate intellectual property protection needs to be formulated to mobilize the enthusiasm of innovation subjects, help transform scientific and technological achievements into real productivity, enhance innovation and entrepreneurial activity, increase innovation output,and facilitate high-quality economic development[2-4]. China” s intellectual property protection has both theoretical research and practical experience. To better grasp the theoretical basis, evolution path, research hot spots, and development trends of intellectual property protection research, researchers need to solve the problem of data obsolescence in research that is purely quantitative while avoiding the limitation that purely qualitative research is susceptible to subjective factors. This study uses bibliometrics (CiteSpace software) to analyze data and analyze intellectual property protection research literature. Through the co-citation analysis of intellectual property protection research literature and authors, the primary path of intellectual property protection research is explored. The study understands the research hot spots through keywords, and a keyword cluster analysis elucidates the dynamic development process of intellectual property protection research. The development trend of intellectual property protection in China is explored based on previous research and the current situation. This study analyses the research foundation,path, hot spots, and trends in the field of intellectual property protection in China over the past 20 years, reflecting the advance of intellectual property protection research theories and facilitating the development of intellectual property protection with Chinese characteristics in the era of the digital economy.

2 Data Sources and Research Methods

2.1 Data Sources

This study” s reference data was drawn from the Source Chinese Social Science Citation Index (CSSCI), covering the period from the emergence of relevant literature to the execution date. The data was retrieved on March 1,2021, and the retrieval time range is 1998-2020 (available data from 1998 onwards). To avoid data redundancy due to the variety of search methods, this study used the protection of intellectual property rights as the keyword search. This search returned 1135 articles, and after excluding comments, biographies, and works not in close contact with the subject of interest, the final data set included 1087 influential publications, including with the retrieval results names, keywords, references, and much other information needed for detailed analysis.

2.2 Research Methods

CiteSpace software is used for bibliometric analysis to show the internal structural relationship of literature knowledge[5]. Because CiteSpace software is based on WoS (Web of Science) data, CSSCI documents need to be downloaded in batches according to format requirements and then converted to WoS format before the data is filtered, deweighted, and analyzed. In this paper, CiteSpace V5.7.r5W (64-bit) is used for calculation. The time range is from 1998 to 2020, and the time slice is set as 1. Relevant parameters are set in CiteSpace” s function and parameter areas. The software-related parameters are mainly frequency, intermediate centrality, and clustering index.

3 Analysis of Basic Characteristics of Intellectual Property Protection Research Literature

3.1 Quantity Analysis of Articles

The number of published papers is an essential indicator of research popularity. According to CSSCI, Chinese scholars” research on intellectual property protection started earlier. The number of published articles reached double digits in 1998 and peaked in 1999. After that, the number of annual publications fluctuated continuously. Overall, the number of published papers keeps growing, with an average annual number of 47, indicating that the research on intellectual property protection has a high research heat. Please refer to Figure 1.

Figure 1 Number of Papers Published Annually and Trends

3.2 Published Subjects and Journal Analysis

This study used the CSSCI database to classify research on protecting intellectual property rights into multiple disciplines and ranked journals. The disciplines of the papers in our present sample characteristics are highly skewed toward the disciplines of economics, law, and management, with these three disciplines covering 83% of the papers. Although protecting intellectual property rights involves many fields, the papers mainly covered economic,legal, and management aspects. The distribution of journals that published the papers in our sample is relatively balanced. Still, slightly more journals focus on scientific and technological progress or countermeasures and intellectual property, indicating to some extent that different journals attach different importance to intellectual property protection research. Please refer to Table 1.

Table 1 The Top Five Discipline Names and Journal Types

3.3 Collaborator Analysis

This study also analyses the collaborative networks of authors in the field of intellectual property protection in China. To do so, the study sets the node type of the software to ” Author” and use the default values for the other settings. From the microscopic co-author analysis, the study finds that many scholars participate in research in intellectual property protection. Still, the cooperation among scholars is not obvioapparent centrality of all authors is 0, indicating that the network centrality is 0. The network can be divided into three groups according to the intensity of academic cooperation, with Yu Changlin, Tang Baoqing, and Shen Guobing as the group representatives. Although many scholars attach importance to research on intellectual property protection, that research is decentralized, and it is advisable to form a collaborative team of scholars with strong influence in the future.

4 Basic Analysis of Intellectual Property Protection Research

The basic knowledge of intellectual property protection research comprises co-cited publications. The node category of the software is used to search for nodes such as Reference and Cited Author. Repeated attempts showed that it is best to set the threshold ” Top N” to 30 and leave the other nodes in the original system state.

4.1 Journal Co-Citation Analysis

Identifying highly cited journals that publish articles on intellectual property protection in China can be used to track the development of the field. By analyzing the citation counts of highly cited journals in the field of intellectual property protection in China, the study determines the top 10 highly cited journals. The highly cited journals are top journals in economics, management, and other disciplines, and the highest citation years are 2004 and 2005, indicating the rapid development of intellectual property in this period. The yearly citation count of these highly cited journals is the highest in economic research, up to 198, with a centrality of 0.17. Research Policy ranked second with 193 citations and a centrality of 0.09. Journal of International Economics was cited 183 times with a centrality of 0.02, ranking third. The citation counts of other journals showed a trend of fluctuation and decline. The distribution of highly cited journals indicates that the research on intellectual property protection has essential practical and theoretical significance. At the same time, highly cited journals provide a basis for the interdisciplinary research study of actual property protection and economics, politics, and management. Please refer to Table 2.

Table 2 Top Five Highly Cited Journals

4.2 Co-Citation Analysis of Papers and Authors

Co-Citation analysis of papers and authors represents the knowledge structure of the research field, the citation frequency of papers represents the influence of the research, and centrality means the critical index of the research topic. This paper retrieved co-cited publications and authors to determine author ranking, citation batch,publication year, centrality, and other indicators. After that, co-cited reports were individually retrieved, and the title and source of citations were determined by referring to the CSSCI database. Based on the analysis of papers and co-citation of authors in the field of intellectual property protection, a subdivided lot is mainly formed with Yu Changlin, Han Yuxiong, Xu Chunming, Dai Zhongqiang, Wu Handong, and Wu Chaopeng as the centers of divisions, involving economics, management, law, and other disciplines.

According to the comprehensive analysis of cited papers and authors, the article with the highest citation count was mentioned 66 times, with a centrality of 0.23; it was published in World Economic Studies by Yu Changlin[6].Based on national and industry panel data of several developing countries, this paper uses empirical methods to analyze the impact of intellectual property protection on international trade flows, finding that the effects of intellectual property protection largely depend on the national conditions of developing countries. The document” s historical citation status is obtained through the analysis of CiteSpace” s Node Details function. In the past ten years, other scholars have constantly cited the record, indicating a close connection between the level of intellectual property protection and international trade. The authors citing Yu” s paper include Shen Guobing, Han Jian, Yuan Bo, and other scholars. The citing papers involve Chinese enterprises” export technology, import and export trade, significant scientific research projects, and other aspects.

Second place went to a paper by Han Yuxiong, Li Huaizu, and other scholars, published in the World Economy Journal. This paper was cited 56 times and had a centrality of 0.22. Under the guidance of relevant, innovative ideas, this paper builds a technology diffusion model and finds that intellectual property protection in follower countries is strengthened, which has little impact on the social welfare level[7]. The third-place paper is by Xu Chunming, Shan Xiaoguang, and other scholars, published in Research in Science of Science, with 38 citations and 0.10 centrality. This paper focuses on rebuilding China” s intellectual property protection intensity index system, using indicators for administrative protection, social public, judicial protection, economic development, and international supervision. These indicators measure the intensity of intellectual property legislation and law enforcement strength from the horizontal and vertical aspects, measuring the power of the protection of intellectual property rights, and verifying the new developments of intellectual property protection strength[8].

The above high-quality papers analyze the research on intellectual property protection in China from different perspectives, using intellectual property protection as a tool to propose theoretical and practical strategies for dealing with other disciplines or fields. The study notes that such intellectual property research is closely related to developments at the time of the study, reflecting the situation in a specific period and providing a knowledge basis for systematic research in the field of intellectual property protection.

4.3 Basic Path Analysis

The main evolutionary paths of the research field are presented through highly cited publications. In this paper, the ” Reference” feature of CiteSpace software is used for retrieval, and Timezone View is selected. After that,classical forms of critical nodes in intellectual property research are manually set to analyze the primary evolutionary path of intellectual property protection research.

In 1998, scholar Zheng Chengsi analyzed the laws of various countries regarding relevant concepts and expounded on the relationship between fundamental rights, property rights, and intellectual property, providing a theoretical basis for the research on intellectual property protection in China[9]. Intellectual property has the characteristics of exclusivity and intangibility, which are particularly important for intellectual property protection in database products and network information. It is necessary to develop from intellectual property rights to information property rights and protect relevant intellectual property[10]. During the third technological revolution, the intellectual property protection system developed along with that trend. At the same time, the intellectual property protection system constantly encouraged and guided technological innovation, realizing a virtuous cycle of intellectual property protection and technological innovation[11]. Traditional Chinese medicine has formed a unique medical system in the development of the Chinese nation, so it is essential for the state to continuously strengthen legislation on traditional Chinese medicine and legislation on intellectual property protection for traditional Chinese medicine[12].

In the 21st century, with China” s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO), intellectual property has gained more and more popularity due to the opportunities and challenges brought by China” s entry into WTO.Strengthening intellectual property protection has become the focus of many scholars. Study on the protection of intellectual property rights of limited Yu Faxue discipline, but intellectual property and technology innovation activities have a close relationship. Zou Wei considers the perspective of economic analysis of the relationship between patents and R&D activities. They have found that strengthening intellectual property protection in the short term may damage the interests of consumers. Still, it promotes research and development for a long time and thus produces more robust intellectual property protection that positively impacts social action[13]. Intellectual property protection in China is analyzed by qualitative methods and studied by quantitative methods. In 2005, Han Yuxiong and other scholars used the Ginarte-Park method to research intellectual property protection in China over the years, empirically verifying its rising level in China[14].

In 2008, China” s State Council promulgated the Outline of the National Intellectual Property Strategy, which provided new directions and ideas for researching intellectual property protection in China. Before the promulgation, Yi Xianzhong and other scholars found that when China” s technology level was relatively backward, the low level of intellectual property protection was conducive to technological progress[15]. Therefore, this research found that the country needs timely promulgation of relevant strategies. China must formulate appropriate and effective intellectual property protection to avoid the dilemma between independent innovation and imitation of foreign technology. Yu Changlin found that intellectual property protection significantly impacts foreign direct investment (FDI) in technology-intensive industries compared to labor-or capital-intensive industries. In 2011, based on the gravity model of extended trade, it was confirmed that improving the level of intellectual property protection has a significant market expansion effect on the development of import trade[16,17].

In 2012, China changed from being a technology-importing country to a technology-exporting country, and the innovation capacity of enterprises has kept developing. Many scholars pay attention to research on innovation capacity. With the continuous improvement of the intellectual property protection system, the country improves its overall innovation capacity, accelerating the export of technology and indirectly affecting the export scale[18]. The improvement of nominal and actual intellectual property protection is conducive to guiding and encouraging enterprises to increase research and development (R&D) investment and enhance innovation capability[19]. Industry heterogeneity affects the effect of intellectual property protection on industry innovation. The Tobit and Probit models analyze the intensity index of intellectual property protection, revealing that strengthening intellectual property protection in highly competitive industries raises enterprise R&D incentives. However, initiatives with a high degree of monopoly show an ” inverted U” shape of R&D as intellectual property protection rises, so strengthening intellectual property protection is not always conducive to increasing enterprises” R&D investment[20]. Through panel data of local large and medium-sized industrial enterprises, other research has further verified that strengthening intellectual property protection is conducive to improving the overall innovation capacity of Chinese industry[21].

The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed high-quality economic development, and China” s research on intellectual property protection embodies the concept of high-quality development.The government attaches importance to protecting intellectual property, improving enterprises” innovation ability,changing economic development mode, and realizing high-quality economic development[22]. The industry includes upstream and downstream enterprises, so to strengthen intellectual property protection, the government makes innovative policies, improves the export technology content of enterprises, encourages enterprises to change their development mode, scientifically allocates resource elements, and promotes high-quality economic development[23].

According to the co-citation of the research literature on intellectual property protection and the combination of key literature, the overall context of intellectual property protection can be summarised as follows: (1) The research method has changed from theoretical research to theoretical and empirical research. (2) The research subjects have expanded from law to economics, management, and multiple other disciplines. (3) The research object has changed from intellectual property protection and technology import to intellectual property protection and technology export. (4) The research perspective has changed from macroscopic intellectual property protection to microscopic intellectual property protection layers. In short, in the era of the digital economy the research on intellectual property protection carries out theoretical and empirical research in several dimensions, such as intellectual property and technological innovation, R&D investment, and high-quality development.

5 Research Hot Spots and Trends of Intellectual Property Protection

The hot spots and trends in the field of intellectual property are obtained through the analysis of keywords cooccurrence by the CiteSpace software. The study selects ” Keyword” for node type, sets ” Top N” to 100, selects” Minimum Spanning Tree” and ” Pruning” for the merged network, and uses the default values for other nodes.

5.1 Research Hot Spots Analysis

The centrality and citation frequency of hot keywords are calculated using the algorithm provided by CiteSpace. The top nine keywords of intellectual property protection research hotspots are intellectual property protection, intellectual property, technological innovation, digital library, independent innovation, foreign direct investment, technological protection measures, transnational corporation and trademark law respectively. The centrality of these hot keywords is at least 0.10. The centrality of intellectual property protection is the highest at 1.66, accounting for 984 citations. The centrality of intellectual property was 0.39, with 29 citations. The centrality of technological innovation is 0.20, and the citation frequency is 0.47, indicating that research efforts on intellectual property, intellectual property protection, and technological innovation are closely related and of great value to its research.Please refer to Table 3.

Table 3 Hot Keyword Analysis(Top9)

Intellectual property protection is of great significance to national development. On the one hand, intellectual property protection helps to develop new technology and promote innovation. On the other hand, it does limit competition and adversely affects innovation efficiency. The spatial distribution of the intensity of intellectual property protection in various provinces in China is unbalanced, and both endogenous and exogenous factors jointly affect the power of intellectual property protection[24]. To effectively face this complex situation and explore the optimal intensity of intellectual property protection, China” s government should attach importance to regional intellectual property protection, accelerate knowledge flow between regions, create an excellent regional innovation environment, improve the technological innovation ability of regional enterprises, strengthen the spatial relevance of restricted intellectual property protection, and produce more spillover effects[25-26].

Sino-US trade friction exists not only in terms of ideology and social system; it also relates to the problem of intellectual property protection, as evidenced by the American use of its ” special 301 clauses” and ” 337” clause in retaliation for China” s trade practices. To continuously strengthen intellectual property protection in China and provide a realistic foundation, China needs to improve its legislation system, a vital step to establishing and perfecting intellectual property protection techniques[27]. China develops high-tech and strategic emerging industries, attaching importance to technology transfer under the framework of the TRIPs Agreement. Also, enterprises attach importance to intellectual property protection based on their industries” characteristics and all resources to public awareness of intellectual property protection and develop relevant models with Chinese features.

In the knowledge economy era, China needs to pay special attention to intellectual property protection, improve independent innovation ability, develop intellectual property rights, and formulate intellectual property protection-related systems by national conditions in subdivided fields and industries based on the TRIPs Agreement[28].The knowledge economy emphasizes that knowledge drives the economy, highlighting the importance of innovation centers such as universities, scientific research institutions, and enterprises. Universities and colleges are significant promoters of the development of the knowledge economy, and intellectual property is related to many aspects of the development of universities and colleges. The popularisation of Intellectual Property Law, the establishment and improvement of intellectual property management systems, and the progress of intellectual property protection consciousness of university personnel are conducive to promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in universities and colleges[29]. Independent intellectual property development in Chinese enterprises is subject to the economic system and specific policies. The development of separate intellectual property of enterprises requires the development of internal mechanisms and the improvement of relevant measures for intellectual property protection[30].

In the context of developing new technology, intellectual property should be regarded as the ownership of resources and intangible property. Therefore, attention should be paid to relevant legislation and law enforcement,and the intellectual property system should be combined with economic, scientific, technological, legal, and techniques to improve the interest balance mechanism and innovation incentive mechanism[31]. In the process of intellectual property development, there is an inconsistency between the system of transformation of scientific and technological achievements and the design of intellectual property protection, so it is necessary to expand the scope of intellectual property protection, change people” s traditional ideas, and amend the Patent Law, Trademark Law, and other laws related to intellectual property[32].

China” s economy continues to grow, its industrial structure continues to improve, and the 19th CPC National Congress has ushered in a new era. China” s technological development is closely related to its economic growth pattern, within which friction in international trade plays an important role, especially intellectual property rights friction[33]. Multinational companies, foreign direct investment, and technology spillover effects confirm the effect of international trade and the need to develop China” s intellectual property protection. China needs an intellectual property development strategy, strengthening R&D, providing an early warning mechanism, and establishing and improving the intellectual property system for enterprises. The government should provide legal aid related to intellectual property, improve the quality of intermediary services, develop more measures to strengthen the protection of intellectual property and safeguard the legitimate interests of the country, people, and markets[34]. The progress of science and technology in China is an essential engine for promoting economic development, so China should cultivate innovative talents, optimize resource-allocation factors, and attach increasing importance to the intellectual economy, including developing cooperation between industry, university, and research institutes to help reform the national innovation system. Progress requires that authorities approve the establishment of an intellectual property court,which will contribute to the high-quality development of China” s economy in the era of the digital economy.

5.2 Research Field Development Trend

Research should be based on China” s intellectual property rights protection in the Chinese characters of the era of the digital economy. In the face of China” s unique national conditions at present, and considering the complex changes in the international situation, the existing research efforts need to develop for the future by using multiple perspectives to address the needs for localization, characteristics, diversity, and internationalization of research. The goal must be to explore the road of intellectual property protection with Chinese characteristics in the era of the digital economy.

(1) Localisation development of intellectual property protection

China” s intellectual property protection development needs a localization focus considering the main contradictions in the era of the digital economy. It needs to find and implement the optimal development course of intellectual property protection in China, solve the practical problems of the development of related industries and sectors,adjust traditional industry to develop intellectual property rights protection, break the monopoly that some developed countries have for some technology, and enhance the abilities for both collaborative innovation and independent innovation. China needs to increase the efficiency of its total factor productivity and innovation.

(2) Characteristic development of intellectual property protection

Development in China” s protection of intellectual property rights has the characteristics of an innovation-driven development strategy under sustainable development guidance. The protection of intellectual property needs to fit the characteristics of the Chinese model of development, give full play to the function of the main market body,and implement the government” s policies regarding assistance, patents, new industries, integrated circuit progress,and so on. While doing that, the development must emphasize the main characteristic of protecting intellectual property rights. China should strengthen its awareness of intellectual property protection for different types of innovation, improve technological protection measures, and develop cooperation among enterprises, universities, and research institutes. It should strengthen the application of scientific and technical achievements, attach importance to summarising the experience of intellectual property protection development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region, and explore the most robust and most appropriate intensity of intellectual property protection.

(3) Diversified development of intellectual property protection

The diversification aspect of China” s intellectual property protection emphasizes the diversity of protection means, the establishment and improvement of intellectual property protection mechanisms and systems in line with China” s national interests, and the advancement of relevant supporting systems, such as the anti-monopoly system and patent insurance system. At the same time, China needs to improve the applicable laws and regulations on intellectual property protection, so legislative and judicial branches must be conscious of intellectual property protection systematic thinking, Copyright law, Patent Law, Trademark Law, and laws to restrict improper competition.Such systems must be perfected to reduce the abuse of intellectual property rights. Civil Law needs to include fundamental laws protecting intellectual property rights in China. Systematic training should be strengthened for judges and law enforcement personnel to create a fair intellectual property protection atmosphere in the era of the digital economy.

(4) International development of intellectual property protection

China” s intellectual property protection requires developing international thinking appropriate to China” s own area but incorporating a domestic, international dual cycle guided by values in line with international standards.China needs to strengthen its contact with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), make full use of the relevant provisions of the TRIPs Agreement, effectively cope with trade friction, develop intellectual property trade, promote Chinese market openness, attach importance to the quality of import and export products, participate in the division of the global value chain, enhance the ability of technology integration, realize the goal of information resource sharing and cost saving, cultivate core technology, and form a complete market reputation system.These will protect the country” s legitimate interests and relevant market subjects.

(5) Summary

Strengthening intellectual property protection is conducive to developing international trade, attracting foreign investment, accelerating technology transfer, and enhancing China” s national innovation capacity in the era of the digital economy. At the same time, it will affect the orderly development of relevant industries in all countries that import technology, increase relevant expenses, and encourage technological monopoly to a certain extent. The strength of intellectual property protection with Chinese characteristics requires a moderate and rational level to safeguard national security. In realizing a complete chain of intellectual property development, policymakers should emphasize intellectual property rights while considering localization, characteristics, diversity, and internationalization. The development must cultivate interdisciplinary talents of intellectual property protection and increase investment in research and development, relying on new technology, such as blockchain and big data China will support the development of intellectual property protection in terms of institutions, human resources, financial resources, information, and data.

6 Research Summary and Prospects

Through bibliometrics, this study clarified literature achievements related to intellectual property protection, including many disciplines related to intellectual property protection. This paper explored the development path, research hotspots, and future development trends of intellectual property protection in the era of the digital economy.The main conclusions of the study are as follows:

(1) Research on intellectual property protection has always been a hot topic in academic circles. The study of intellectual property protection has developed from being related to just the law discipline to management, economics, sociology, and other fields. At present, China has no closely cooperating research group on this topic; there are several representative scholars, such as Yu Changlin, Han Yuxiong, Xu Chunming, and Wu Handong.

(2) The co-citation analysis of authors and papers on intellectual property protection shows that many achievements have been made in research on intellectual property protection. The first citation with high citation frequency was published in World Economic Studies, indicating the critical role of intellectual property protection in economics. The research methods, objects, and perspectives of intellectual property protection are changing with global progress.

(3) Through keyword analysis, the hot spots of the intellectual property mainly focus on technological innovation, independent innovation, technological protection measures, and laws related to intellectual property, but the centrality of these hot keywords is low, indicating that related research fields are scattered. Further cluster analysis shows that intellectual property protection, intellectual property, and economic growth are the main contents of such literature, indicating that intellectual property protection has significant achievements in theory and practice.

(4) From the analysis of the research basis and hotspots of intellectual property protection, the study concludes that to realize the development of the whole chain of intellectual property protection, China” s system needs to consider the aspects of localized, characteristic, diversified, and international development of intellectual property protection. However, the intensity of intellectual property protection in China must be to the actual situation in China.

The opportunities and challenges in today” s world, under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with globalization and inverse globalization development trends, require adequate protection of intellectual property rights in the era of the digital economy. This, in turn, requires research about national and international future developments, emphasizing the need to strengthen cross-disciplinary research on intellectual property protection. The goal is to develop intellectual property protection theory, leading to high-quality theory and achievements. China” s research on intellectual property protection should be based on China” s actual situation, adjust the intensity of intellectual property protection by industry or field, effectively cope with international trade friction, and explore the road of intellectual property protection with Chinese characteristics in the era of the digital economy. Such development is required in the new era under the guidance of relevant strategies and concepts such as the Belt and Road Initiative and domestic and international double cycle.