On November 17, 2025, the Faculty of Law at the Macau University of Science and Technology successfully hosted the 60th session of the Crossroad Legal Forum (the second session of the 2025/2026 academic year) at N101 on campus. The theme of this forum was "Recent Developments in Property Law." Distinguished speakers included Professor Jin Jing from the Civil, Commercial and Economic Law School, China University of Political Science and Law and Professor Zhu Xiaofeng from the Law School, Central University of Finance and Economics. The session was moderated by Dr. Xie Gengliang, the Program Director, with Assistant Professor Zhang Chuanqi serving as the discussant.
During the academic report segment, Professor Jin Jing presented on "Data Markets and Data Licensing." She addressed the dual advancement of policy and judicial decisions, highlighting shortcomings in judicial practice. She proposed a comprehensive exploration of data markets from both economic and legal dimensions, arguing that "data sharing based on agreements" and "non-personal data transactions" fall under the realm of data licensing. However, she noted that these concepts differ from traditional licensing and called for clear definitions regarding their scope, content, and limitations, including practical prototypes, contract details, and relevant legal aspects like intellectual property law, contractual terms, personal data protection law, and antitrust law.
Professor Jin Jing
Professor Zhu Xiaofeng delivered his talk on "The Past, Present, and Future of Personality and Property," framing it around four key questions to outline the international development of personality rights and the background for their independent codification in China’s Civil Code. He discussed types of personality rights—technical, ethical, and mixed—and referenced Greco-Roman law and Kantian ethics to explore the "past" of personality. For the "present," he examined the economic value of personality rights through Articles 992 and 993 of the Civil Code. Looking to the "future," he emphasized emerging trends such as assisted reproduction, digital resurrection of the deceased, and brain-computer interfaces, while also addressing the ethical challenges posed by generative AI.
Professor Zhu Xiaofeng
In the discussion segment, Assistant Professor Zhang Chuanqi provided insights on data licensing contracts, the tort liability and unjust enrichment laws related to data protection, and the structural protection of personality interests and transactional rules. During the Q&A session, students raised questions concerning data transaction management and legislative issues surrounding data. The exchange of ideas fostered insightful discussions. The dialogue on new types of property rights is set to continue, with the thoughts and insights sparked during this Crossroad Legal Forum undoubtedly extending into future legal research and practice.
