Art embodies the free expression of ideas, while the law serves as a powerful guardian of artistic freedom. In 2024, the contemporary art field in China witnessed a series of copyright and plagiarism cases in the art world, drawing widespread attention from all society. Art and legal professionals, based on their respective professional knowledge backgrounds, have conducted in-depth analysis and interpretation of cases of art infringement, fully demonstrating the diverse possibilities contained in the collision between art and law. This paper will discuss intellectual property issues arising in the art world by examining intellectual property infringement cases that occurred in Chinese contemporary art field during 2024. The discussion will be organized into three sections. The first section serves as an introduction, briefly explaining the relationship between art and intellectual property, defining artistic works under the law, and outlining how such works are legally recognized. The second section focuses on the cases, introducing the related events that occurred mainly in 2024 and raising the issues they have triggered. It analyzes the cases primarily from the perspective of the boundaries between plagiarism, reference, and appropriation, pointing out that these cases have also raised the crisis of originality in Chinese contemporary art. It also raises the difficulties and high costs of protecting the intellectual property rights of artworks, and raises the problems and challenges faced by artistic creation in the context of technology. Section three presents insights and reflections on contemporary Chinese art from multiple perspectives, including artistic creation, institutional development, and challenges, as well as summarizing the lessons it has learned.
