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On June 24, 2025, the *"Sailing Thousands of Vessels Overseas: Forum on Legal Escort for Film, Television and Cultural Enterprises Going Global"* was grandly convened. The event was guided by the Lujiazui Administration of the Management Committee of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, hosted by the Legal Affairs Working Committee of China Television Drama Production Industry Association, and co-organized by Shanghai Pudong New Area Comprehensive Service Center for Enterprises Going Global, Lujiazui International Accounting Center, Shanghai TYGlobe Law Firm and D'Andrea & Partners (Italy). Elites, experts and scholars from the guiding authorities, industry associations, film and television enterprises and the legal community gathered at the forum, holding in-depth discussions on legal pain points in the overseas expansion of the film and television industry, international compliance paths and the global development of the industry. The forum aims to build a "government-enterprise-legal sector" collaborative ecosystem for the global development of China's film, television and cultural industry, and jointly build a rule-of-law protective barrier for cross-border development.

Policy Guidance: Examining the Strategic Height of China's Culture Going Global Strategy from the Forefront of Pudong

Wang Yue, Executive General Manager of the Shanghai Pudong New Area Comprehensive Service Center for Enterprises Going Global, delivered an address. She stated that as China's first "Going Global" comprehensive service platform in the nature of a private non-enterprise organization, the Center works with 11 council member units and more than 60 strategic partners, and operates over 270 overseas service stations across the globe, covering a wide range of regions including Europe and the United States, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. It provides one-stop full-process overseas services for enterprises expanding into overseas markets, covering the entire lifecycle from preliminary market research and business inspection at the preparation stage, to project matchmaking and investment consulting after local market entry, as well as ongoing operation support, risk early warning and other supporting services in the operation phase. A number of film, television and cultural enterprises are present at today's event. Going forward, the Center will fully support the "Going Global" initiatives of film, television and cultural enterprises.

Yang Zi, Director of the Legal Affairs Working Committee of the China TV Drama Production Industry Association, analyzed the new landscape of the current going-global endeavor of the film and television industry from the perspective of the overall development of the sector. He stated that the association has always actively performed its functions and duties in such areas as industry services and international exchanges, and attaches particular importance to the critical role of law in the process of the industry's overseas expansion. Against the backdrop of globalization and the reshaping of the geopolitical landscape, the film and television cultural industry is faced with a situation where opportunities and challenges coexist. The association expects to integrate resources through this forum to provide full-process legal safeguards for enterprises.

Industrial Practice: Chinese "Going Global" Enterprises Decode the Win-win Mechanism for International Cooperation

Ms. Song Xi, Vice President and General Counsel of New Classics Media Co., Ltd. affiliated to China Literature Group, delivered a speech entitled *Legal Escort and Win-Win Mechanism for International Film and Television Cooperation*. In the speech, she first shared New Classics Media's practical experience in three major business segments: overseas distribution, IP remake and international co-production. Subsequently, drawing on the experience from the *Too Cool to Kill* project, she shared insights on how film and television works can achieve two-way win-win outcomes in international cooperation. Finally, from the perspectives of addressing legal discrepancies and cultural conflicts in international cooperation, and realizing intellectual property right (IPR) protection, Ms. Song Xi elaborated on common problems encountered by film and television enterprises in international cooperation and corresponding countermeasures, and highlighted the importance of full-process compliance management, cultural value review and IPR protection.

Legal Insights: Experts from China and Abroad Deconstruct the Risk Map for Overseas Expansion

Dr. Shen Honggang, Secretary-General of the Legal Affairs Working Committee of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, delivered a speech titled *Current Development Status and Hotspots of China's Film and Television Drama Industry*. Taking the analysis of trends and characteristics presented by changes in industry data from 2019 to 2024 as the entry point, he revealed the reform and development trend of the industry in recent years with data. In 2024, 593 domestic TV dramas and 2,653 micro-short dramas were filed for the record. The filing volumes of TV dramas and micro-short dramas demonstrate the striking contrast between their development over the past five years. In recent years, the overseas expansion of "short content" has become a new explosive growth point, yet only 37.25% of relevant enterprises have their overseas revenue account for more than 1% of total revenue. He pointed out that issues including piracy losses, cultural discount effect and streaming media competition faced by Chinese film, television and cultural enterprises going global are in urgent need of effective solutions, and put forward targeted recommendations accordingly.

Jiang Yurong, Senior Partner of Beijing Dacheng Law Firm, focused on the *Overview of Key Points of Overseas Cooperation for Film, Television and Cultural Projects*, emphasizing that lawyers shall think in alignment with clients' strategy makers and provide implementation support for clients' strategies with legal thinking. He introduced the largest single overseas market for China's film, television and cultural works, namely the United States, with detailed and reliable data, and analyzed the status of the US market in cultural services trade based on data such as the USD 900 million box office of Chinese films in North America and the CNY 5.328 billion export revenue of short dramas in 2024. He demonstrated the dynamic risks that shall be focused on in overseas investment through Sino-US tariff conflicts, and reminded enterprises to pay attention to the potential risks brought by Sino-US tariff negotiations to the import and export of content. Taking vivid cases including the *Macao 2049* project served by Lawyer Jiang's team as examples, he explained how enterprises shall establish a legal, financial and tax support structure in the process of overseas expansion. He also reminded enterprises to pay attention to the potential impact of Sino-US tariff negotiations on the import and export of content.

Tong Ling, Senior Partner of Shanghai TYGlobe Law Firm, took *From the Import and Export of Film and Television Dramas to Cultural Going Global* as the core thread, and sorted out the 40-year evolution history spanning from the import of *The Man from Atlantis* in 1980 to the launch of Netflix's version of *The Three-Body Problem*. "Every cultural exchange is accompanied by legal contests. When *The Fugitive* introduced the revenue-sharing model, we mastered the design of box office revenue sharing clauses; when *Empresses in the Palace* was cut by 11 minutes for overseas distribution, we began to attach great importance to the stipulation of adaptation rights." In her sharing, she specifically warned against four major legal minefields: conflicts over cultural sovereignty, the dilemma of digital tax barriers, IP plagiarism traps, and discontinuity in derivative development, and called on enterprises to establish a "geopolitical and legal early warning system".

Xie Jun, Senior Consulting Lawyer of the Shanghai Representative Office of Denneri Law Firm (Italy), delivered an international perspective on the theme of *Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese Film, Television and Cultural Enterprises Going Global under the Geopolitical Restructuring Pattern*. Focusing on the European Union (EU) investment review procedures and Italy's "Golden Power" cases, he analyzed relevant institutional barriers. He recommended that when investing in Europe, enterprises shall pay special attention to cultural integration, labor management, talent retention and intellectual property protection.

Sun Qihui, Director of the Overseas Legal Department of Shanghai TYGlobe Law Firm, put forward four solutions to tackle the hidden risks in the overseas expansion of Chinese film and television productions in her speech titled *Contest Across Mountains and Seas: The Advancing Path of Copyright Protection for Chinese Film and Television Going Global*: First, carry out pre-expansion planning. Clarify copyright ownership at the preparation stage and sign rigorous contracts. For adapted works in particular, complete authorization from the original authors shall be fully secured. Second, make good use of international rules and agreements. Safeguard legitimate rights and interests by virtue of international conventions as well as bilateral and multilateral agreements. Third, leverage technical means. Prevent copyright infringement through measures including blockchain evidence preservation and video recognition technology. Fourth, actively initiate rights protection litigation. Fix and preserve evidence in a timely manner once infringement occurs. Although cross-border rights protection faces difficulties, it can effectively mitigate losses and deter infringers.

Breakthrough and Innovation: The Advancement Path of Copyright Protection and the Launch of the Community

At the forum site, the "Legal Escort Community for the Film and Television Silk Road" was officially launched. This community pools resources from authoritative legal service institutions and think tanks to provide full-chain support covering contracts, intellectual property rights, compliance review and dispute resolution, and is also committed to promoting creative exchanges and market collaboration among its members.

This forum brings together industry elites, experts and scholars to conduct in-depth discussions on topics covering the core development paths for the going global efforts of film, television and cultural enterprises as well as relevant legal safeguards, thus providing solid intellectual support and practical guidance for the industry's global expansion endeavors. Participating guests unanimously agreed that the exchange platform established by the forum has not only systematically sorted out the full legal risk landscape for film, television and cultural enterprises in their internationalization process, but also developed a system of solutions that are both forward-looking and operable. These outcomes will effectively drive more high-quality cultural content to break through the "discount effect" in cross-cultural communication, help the industry realize the value advancement from "mere physical presence overseas" to "cultural integration", and achieve the strategic leap from "going global" to "deeply taking root in the global market".