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Yichen Zhang

Postgraduate researcher and Graduate Teaching Assistant.

Liverpool Law School

yichen.zhang@liverpool.ac.uk

Yichen Zhang

Biography

Yichen is a PhD candidate in Intellectual Property Law at the School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool. She began her PhD in October 2022, focusing on the copyright implications of generative AI under the supervision of Dr Sujitha Subramanian and Dr Sabine Jacques.

Yichen is also a Research Fellow at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy (CAIDP), based in Washington.

Yichen currently teaches Intellectual Property Law II (LAW 339) and has previously taught Intellectual Property Law I (LAW 338). Additionally, she works as a part-time tutor for A-Level Law courses.

Research

Yichen’s research interests primarily lie at the intersection of copyright law and artificial intelligence (AI), with a particular focus on generative AI (GenAI). Her thesis examines the potential infringement risks associated with GenAI and the applicability of Text and Data Mining (TDM) exceptions in the UK and EU within this context.

She also has a strong interest in data regulation, AI and patents, and the intersection of copyright and competition law.

Yichen is a member of the Technology, Law, and Society Unit at the University of Liverpool.

Thesis title

Copyright Infringement in the Age of Generative AI: Rethinking Text and Data Mining Exceptions in the UK.

Date of study

PhD Start Date: October 2022
PhD Completion Date (Expected): October 2026

Supervisors

Publications

Conference Papers:

  • Yichen Zhang, ‘Key Challenges at the Crossroads of Generative AI and Copyright Law: Balancing Innovation and Protection’ (2025), The Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA) Annual Conference, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
  • Yichen Zhang, ‘AI, Creativity, and Copyright: Examining the Originality in AI Outputs’ (2025) GSN PhD in Progress Seminar Series, University of Leicester, United Kingdom.
  • Yichen Zhang, ‘The Copyright Dilemma in Training Generative AI: Can “Memorisation” Constitute Infringement?’ (2024), International Scientific Workshop - Legal Challenges of Disruptive Technologies, Warsaw, Poland.
  • Yichen Zhang, ‘Whether Training Generative AI Leads to Copyright Infringement?’ (2024), IBIL PhD Conference, UCL, London, United Kingdom.