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Legal Risks and Compliance Recommendations for Relevant Subjects Involved in Micro-Short Dramas

I. Legal Risks Faced by Copyright Holders and Compliance Recommendations

(I) Potential Legal Risks Faced by Copyright Owners

For the purpose of this article, the term "copyright party" specifically refers to copyright holders of works including online novels, animations, comics, games and original scripts, who enjoy the copyright of the corresponding works in accordance with the law. The first step involved in the front end of content production is intellectual property (IP) acquisition. Generally, the production contractor of micro-short dramas signs an agreement with the copyright party to obtain copyright authorization of the work. On such basis, screenwriters, directors, producers and other relevant personnel may carry out derivative creation and adapt the work into a screenplay or script. As the licensor of the work, the copyright party shall pay attention to the following legal risks:

1. The copyright owner shall ensure that it has a valid legal basis for its rights, so as to avoid disputes over copyright infringement.

The production contractor is normally required to obtain authorization to exploit part or all of the copyright in the work, particularly such fundamental rights as the right of reproduction, the right of adaptation, the right of cinematographic production and the right of distribution. Only after obtaining the corresponding authorization can the production of micro-short dramas proceed to the next stage.

As the licensor of copyright in works, the basic obligation of the copyright owner is to ensure that it possesses the corresponding right basis; otherwise, there will be legal risks of giving rise to copyright infringement disputes. Copyright disputes occur frequently in the film and television industry. Such disputes usually involve the right of authorship, the right of adaptation, the right of protection of the integrity of the work and other rights. In the meantime, individual disputes also involve the issue of work plagiarism. Copyright dispute cases arising in the film and television field also carry certain warning and reference significance for the micro-drama industry.

2. The copyright holder shall carefully review the contract contents to avoid contract disputes and liability for breach of contract.

The copyright holder and the commissioned producer generally stipulate such basic clauses as the content of authorization, form of authorization, rights and obligations of both parties, and liability for breach of contract by signing an agreement. The copyright holder shall carefully review the contract content and seek professional legal advice when necessary.

3. The copyright owner shall ensure that its contents comply with laws, regulations and regulatory policies, and avoid legal risks arising from illegal or non-compliant contents.

The copyright holder shall abide by relevant laws and regulations, and ensure that the content of works does not violate the mandatory provisions of the law. With the gradual development and improvement of regulatory policies on micro-short dramas, the content of micro-short dramas shall also comply with the provisions of regulatory policies, and avoid content prohibited by rules and regulations, such as content that damages China's national image or splits the country (e.g. "Taiwan independence"); content that sensationalizes social hotspots, intensifies social conflicts and undermines social stability; content that distorts history and historical figures; content that glorifies villainous and negative figures, etc. If the content of a micro-short drama violates laws and regulations, the non-compliant micro-short drama itself may face penalties such as being ordered to make rectification and being mandatorily taken offline. The illegal content may also lead to consequences for the copyright holder including fines, compensation, reputation damage and legal proceedings.

4. Where overseas copyright is involved, legal research shall be conducted in advance to avoid operational and copyright risks arising from legal differences among different countries and regions.

Nowadays, with the rapid development and growing maturity of online micro-short dramas, the "going global" of micro-short dramas, driven by digital technologies and global communication networks, has become increasingly prevalent. Business activities related to the overseas micro-short drama market involve the acquisition of overseas copyrights and the assignment of micro-short drama copyrights. Laws and regulations vary across different countries and regions, and their levels of intellectual property rights protection also differ. In the absence of prior understanding and assessment, relevant parties may face penalties or be exposed to litigation risks due to violations of local laws and regulations.

(II) Compliance Recommendations

Lawfully obtain and protect intellectual property rights

As a licensor, the copyright owner shall have lawfully obtained the intellectual property rights in the work. During the copyright licensing process of the work, the licensee usually requires the copyright owner to undertake that it is the copyright owner of the licensed work, and issue relevant copyright warranties and declarations. First, the copyright owner shall warrant that it has a complete, lawful and valid right basis; Second, the copyright owner shall warrant that it has the capability and conditions to exercise the licensing rights independently; Third, the copyright owner shall warrant that the content of the work does not contain any content that plagiarizes the works of others or infringes upon the rights and interests of others.

After lawfully acquiring intellectual property rights, copyright holders shall take active measures to protect their own rights, such as copyright registration, trademark registration and the like.

2. Conclude contracts with cooperating parties to clearly stipulate the scope of authorization.

In the process of licensing works, the copyright owner shall sign a written contract with the cooperating party to specify the content of authorization and the rights and obligations of both parties. In the course of concluding the contract, attention shall be paid to the following matters (as a complete contract is relatively complex and comprehensive, only several points are listed herein):

(1) Authorization Content

The contract shall expressly stipulate the contents of authorization between the two parties, and such contents of authorization shall explicitly specify the specific authorized works, the specific licensed rights, the authorized territory, the term of authorization and other relevant contents.

(2) Methods of Authorization

Methods of authorization include exclusive authorization, non-exclusive authorization and sole authorization. Exclusive authorization refers to granting the right to use the licensed work to the cooperating party in an exclusive and proprietary manner. Non-exclusive authorization means that the cooperating party uses the licensed rights in a non-exclusive manner, that is, the copyright owner has the right to exercise relevant rights on its own or license any third party other than the cooperating party to exercise such rights. Sole authorization means that the copyright owner shall not license the rights granted to the cooperating party to any third party other than the cooperating party for exercise, but the copyright owner has the right to exercise relevant rights on its own. The two parties shall explicitly specify the method of authorization in the contract to avoid subsequent disputes.

(3) Protective Measures

Copyright holders shall note whether there are protective clauses for their own intellectual property rights in the contract, such as clauses on reservation of the right of authorship, protection of the right of integrity of works, and production quality assurance, and shall stipulate corresponding liability for breach of contract. The aforesaid intellectual property protection clauses can safeguard the rights and interests of copyright holders to the greatest extent possible and mitigate their losses.

(4) Conduct regular compliance reviews, adjust business operations in a timely manner, and guard against both infringement upon the legitimate rights and interests of others and the risk of being infringed.

As laws and regulations and the market environment are subject to constant changes, copyright owners shall conduct regular compliance reviews. Copyright owners may establish an internal review mechanism or engage a third party to regularly inspect their own intellectual property status, contracts and licensing agreements, and monitor contract performance, so as to ensure that their own rights are not infringed upon and that licensees exercise their rights in accordance with contractual stipulations. In the meantime, copyright owners shall also regularly monitor the market environment and keep abreast of competitors' dynamics, to guard against both their own infringement upon others' rights and infringement of their own rights by others.

II. Legal Risks Faced by Micro-Short Drama Production Contractors and Relevant Compliance Recommendations

Looking at the current online short drama industry, two main models are prevalent, namely PGC (Professional Generated Content) and UGC (User Generated Content). The PGC model emphasizes securing basic and predictable economic returns through professional production, scheduling and broadcasting, and distribution. UGC, which refers to original user-created content, focuses more on the flexibility and interactivity of content production and distribution.

This article mainly focuses on the legal risks that may be encountered by production subjects under the PGC (Professionally Generated Content) model in the production of micro-short dramas. Under the PGC model, the production undertakers are usually professional institutions including film and television production companies, MCN (Multi-Channel Network) institutions and platforms, which are responsible for the overall planning, organization, execution and management of the project, and carry out shooting, editing, post-production and other work on the basis of works provided by copyright owners.

(I) As the production party of micro-short dramas, the Production Contractor may be exposed to the following legal risks:

1. In the process of producing micro short dramas, the production contractor is usually involved in issues concerning the ownership of rights, and shall attach importance to stipulations on intellectual property rights to avoid intellectual property risks arising from failure to set forth relevant stipulations or ambiguous stipulations.

Although short online dramas have the characteristics of low cost, short production cycle and diversified monetization methods, they still cannot be separated from the concept of "drama", and are still classified as audiovisual works falling within the protection scope of the Copyright Law of China. The issues concerning the ownership of intellectual property rights encountered during the production and shooting of short online dramas are similar to those of other audiovisual works. Take scripts as an example: in the production process of short online dramas, the production contractor usually obtains the IP copyright first. During the production and shooting period, both screenwriters and directors may revise the scripts for multiple times, which involves relevant issues related to the intellectual property rights of scripts.

2. The production contractor shall generally enter into contracts with directors, actors and other working personnel, pay due attention to the stipulations on the rights and obligations of all parties, and avoid legal risks arising from contract disputes.

In micro-short drama production contracts, the contents generally include personnel contracts concluded with directors, actors and other relevant personnel, as well as post-production contracts concluded with teams or staff engaged in editing, visual effects and other work. Such contracts usually stipulate the following basic clauses: service term, service location, scope of services; service fees, payment methods, other expenses and benefits; rights and obligations; intellectual property rights and related rights. On the basis of the aforesaid basic clauses, the contents of the contract shall be adjusted and supplemented accordingly in light of differences in the roles, attributes, complexity of participation in production and level of importance of different personnel in the micro-short drama production process.

3. The Contractor shall examine the content of micro short dramas to avoid legal risks arising from the content's violation of laws, regulations and regulatory policies.

The research group stated in the foregoing section that content regulation over online micro-short dramas is becoming increasingly stringent. The relevant rules specify two aspects: first, the types of content prohibited in online micro-short dramas, including content undermining China's national image, gory and violent content, vulgar and pornographic content, all of which are listed as prohibited content; second, the possible consequences for violation of regulatory requirements, such as order for rectification, mandatory take-down, cancellation of record-filing, suspension of access services, etc.

The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) also stressed "scaling up support for high-quality productions" in the *Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Online Micro-Short Dramas and Implementing the Creation Improvement Plan*, and required relevant subjects to strictly exercise control over the orientation, title, content, aesthetic value, personnel, cast and crew remuneration, publicity and broadcasting of online micro-short dramas. It can be seen that from the level of the NRTA, the expected development direction for micro-short dramas is to improve creation quality and strictly guard against "low-level 'red'". Therefore, producers undertaking the production of micro-short dramas shall pay special attention to the content of such dramas. On the premise that the content of micro-short dramas does not violate laws and regulations, they shall also focus on improving the content quality of micro-short dramas. Only by conforming to the guidance and provisions of relevant policies can they achieve long-term development.

4. The Contractor may be confronted with civil legal disputes involving personal injury, property damage, tort liability, etc. in the course of micro short drama production.

The production and filming of micro-short online dramas involves a wide range of aspects. Apart from signing contracts with directors, core creative personnel, post-production staff and other working personnel, it also involves legal issues related to filming sites, props, music, portrait rights, accidents, etc. For example, the production contractor shall assess the possibility of personal injury, property damage and unexpected incidents in the process of micro-short online drama filming as well as relevant response measures, so as to determine whether to purchase corresponding insurance. For another example, the production contractor shall verify whether the use of photos, dolls, ornaments and other objects as furnishing and decorative props in scene arrangement involves infringement, and whether the use of excerpts from other TV dramas, films, game footage, songs and other contents in micro-short online drama clips also constitutes infringement. The aforesaid legal issues are relatively complicated and professional, so the production contractor shall conduct compliance analysis in advance.

(II) Compliance Recommendations

When executing a contract, the Contractor shall attach importance to the stipulation of corresponding clauses to avoid legal disputes.

The filming and production of micro-short dramas involve numerous legal issues. Depending on the investment cost and production scale, the number of personnel involved varies accordingly. Taking screenwriters, directors, actors and post-production personnel as representatives, the research group briefly sets forth the legal clauses that the production contractor shall pay attention to when signing contracts.

2. Clauses to Which the Production Contractor and the Screenwriter Shall Pay Attention When Concluding a Contract

Screenwriters play a vital role in the creation process of micro-short dramas. They are not only the framers of the stories, but also the soul of the entire work. During the production of micro-short dramas, due to the lack of appeal of star casts, the quality and attractiveness of the plot are particularly critical. Therefore, when concluding a contract with screenwriters, the production contractor shall carefully deliberate on and explicitly specify the key clauses therein, so as to ensure that the rights and interests of both parties are safeguarded.

First of all, the contract shall explicitly specify the creative responsibilities and rights of the screenwriter. This includes the screenwriter's confirmation of the originality, creativity and copyright ownership of the script. The production contractor shall ensure that the content created by the screenwriter is unique and does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. In the meantime, the screenwriter shall own the copyright of the script created by him or her, provided that the contract may stipulate the production contractor's right of use and right of adaptation under specific conditions.

Secondly, the contract shall specify in detail the scope of work and deliverables of the screenwriter. This includes the word count, number of episodes, format requirements of the screenplay, as well as the time nodes for delivery. The production contractor shall explicitly set out the specific requirements for the first draft, revised drafts and final version of the screenplay to be delivered by the screenwriter, so as to ensure the smooth progress of the entire production process.

Thirdly, the remuneration of screenwriters and the payment methods thereof shall be explicitly specified in the contract. This includes the remuneration standards, payment time and payment conditions for screenwriters. The production contractor shall determine reasonable remuneration based on the workload of the screenwriter and the quality of the screenplay, and stipulate the specific payment time and methods in the contract, so as to avoid potential financial disputes that may arise at a later stage.

In addition, the contract shall include clauses concerning script revision and adjustment. The production contractor shall explicitly specify the revisions and adjustments that may be required during the script creation process, and stipulate the response time and number of revisions applicable to the screenwriter upon receipt of revision comments. This ensures that while the script meets production requirements, the screenwriter's freedom of creation and creative expression are also preserved.

Finally, the contract shall include clauses on confidentiality and intellectual property protection. The Contractor shall ensure that the trade secrets and intellectual property rights accessed by screenwriters during the creation process are duly protected, so as to prevent the content of the script from being disclosed or misused without authorization.

3. Clauses Requiring Attention When the Production Contractor Concludes a Contract with the Director

The work of a director generally covers three phases of micro-short drama production, namely the pre-production phase, shooting phase and post-production phase. When entering into a contract, the work responsibilities of the director at different phases shall be specified as explicitly as possible. If, after the shooting of the micro-short drama is completed, the director is required to cooperate in or complete follow-up work, such as subsequent promotion and publicity work, or other work customarily performed by directors under industry practices, it is recommended that all such items be listed one by one in the contract, so as to avoid subsequent disputes arising from work division and cooperation issues. Second, the production contractor shall verify whether the contract contains clauses concerning the production requirements and standards of the micro-short drama. To ensure the quality of the finished work, the two parties may stipulate the quality requirements and standards for the completion of the director's work. Third, the production contractor and the director shall reach an agreement on copyright and related rights. Generally, the production contractor holds the copyright of the finished micro-short drama, and the director enjoys the right of authorship. If the director's name and portrait need to be used in subsequent publicity and promotion activities, the two parties shall also explicitly specify the authorized use of relevant rights in the contract. Finally, the research group hereby draws attention to the stipulation of clauses on liability for breach of contract and contract termination. The director plays a pivotal role in the production of micro-short dramas. While the production contractor and the director clearly agree on the work content, remuneration, and rights and obligations of both parties, the production contractor shall carefully review the clauses on liability for breach of contract and contract termination to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

4. Clauses to Which the Producing Party Shall Pay Due Attention When Entering into Contracts with Actors

The contract signed between the production party and the actor shall generally specify such basic information as the role to be played by the actor, filming location, work content, term of service and remuneration. To protect the rights and interests of the production party, the actor service contract usually sets out the obligations of the actor in detail and contains explicit agreements on intellectual property rights. On the one hand, as a performer, the actor provides work outcomes including character images, film stills, name, voice and audio-visual materials for the micro-short drama he or she stars in. The two parties shall reach an agreement on the intellectual property rights related to the work to avoid subsequent ownership disputes. On the other hand, after the completion of the micro-short drama, the actor is usually required to cooperate in publicity work, and the two parties may stipulate the follow-up publicity and promotion tasks of the actor. In the meantime, since the actor's image has a certain impact on the broadcasting and publicity of the micro-short drama, it is recommended that warranty clauses be added to the contract, under which the actor warrants that he or she will abide by laws and regulations, observe ethical norms and comply with public order and good morals. The filming and production of micro-short dramas usually involve principal actors, ordinary actors and extras, and the content of the contract shall be adjusted based on the differences between roles.

5. Clauses to Which the Contractor Shall Pay Due Attention When Concluding a Contract with Post-production Personnel

Post-production involves relatively complicated contents, including video editing, material processing, professional color grading, subtitle special effects and other aspects. The production contractor may either entrust the entire post-production work to a cooperative party and sign a single contract therewith, or divide the post-production work and entrust the segmented work to different service providers respectively and sign multiple contracts accordingly. With regard to post-production service contracts, apart from basic clauses, the production contractor shall pay attention to the stipulation of clauses on delivery standards, acceptance of deliverables and confidentiality of materials.

6. Prior compliance consultation and review shall be conducted in respect of the filming sites and props involved in the shooting process of micro-short dramas, so as to avoid infringement of relevant rights.

Due to differences in backgrounds, props and usage circumstances, specific legal risks shall be analyzed in light of the specific conditions of each micro-short drama during shooting. The research team takes the use of photos as props as an example to conduct a brief analysis. First, it is necessary to determine whether the photos used as props constitute photographic works. The Berne Convention lists photographic works as one category of works, and photographic works are also protected by the Copyright Law of China. It shall be noted that not all photos are photographic works. Shooting can be either a means of creation or a means of reproduction. For example, mere rephotography of documents and two-dimensional artworks has no originality due to the lack of creative space, and thus shall not be protected as photographic works. Second, the use of photographic works as props without authorization may infringe upon the right of reproduction, the right of communication through information networks and the right of authorship enjoyed by the copyright owner. In addition, if specific natural persons are depicted in the photos, disputes over the right of portrait, the right to privacy and other rights may also arise. It can be concluded from the foregoing that the shooting of micro-short dramas involves all aspects. When using materials, depending on factors such as the type of materials and the method of use, infringement disputes may arise. The producer shall conduct review in advance and formulate corresponding response measures.

III. Potential Legal Risks Faced by Promoters and Compliance Recommendations

Following the emergence and rise of the new distribution cooperation model, distributors and agents have officially become an integral part of the micro-short drama industrial chain. After obtaining the corresponding authorization from the copyright holders of micro-short dramas, distributors carry out derivative creation such as editing and film and television commentary, and subsequently obtain proceeds through platform revenue sharing, advertisement insertion and other means. After distributors complete the secondary processing of micro-short drama content, agents distribute such content through a variety of channels including video platforms, social media platforms and search engine advertising, and formulate promotion strategies based on target audiences, content characteristics and market demands. Both distributors and agents shall maintain a high level of legal awareness in the course of operation, ensure that their acts comply with the provisions of laws and regulations, and avoid bearing legal liabilities and suffering economic losses.

(I) Promoters acting as distributors or agents shall pay attention to the following legal risks:

The Promoting Party shall simultaneously pay attention to the copyright of the distributed short online dramas and the copyright of the content involved in the aforesaid videos, so as to avoid the risk of intellectual property right infringement.

The work of micro-short drama promoters mainly involves clip editing and slicing as well as secondary creation of micro-short dramas. They usually select the most exciting clips from micro-short drama works, and then promote the recreated works to major video platforms, social media and other communication channels, so as to expand audience coverage. Promoters shall examine whether the works they process and promote are at risk of infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others. On the one hand, they shall obtain corresponding authorization from the copyright holders of the micro-short dramas, and ensure that their secondary creation does not exceed the scope of authorization; on the other hand, if the recreated and promoted works involve other materials such as background music, pictures, portraits, game footage, etc., they shall ensure that the use of such materials does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of third parties.

2. Where advertisements are inserted in videos, the promoting party shall ensure that the content of such advertisements is lawful, avoid advertising compliance risks, and meanwhile pay attention to the protection of consumers' rights and interests.

In the process of the launch and promotion of micro-short dramas, copyright holders and promoters may carry out product advertising and promotion through such means as brand cooperation and product placement, so as to obtain advertising revenue. However, promoters acting as advertising publishers shall conduct legality review of advertising contents. Meanwhile, they shall ensure that the advertising contents are authentic and accurate, and free from such circumstances as infringement upon consumers' lawful rights and interests, dissemination of negative information or unhealthy values.

3. Promoters usually rely on social media platforms for dissemination, and shall abide by the usage policies and regulations of such platforms, so as to avoid the risk of penalties arising from violations of social media platform policies.

Publishing works on social media platforms is the most commonly adopted publicity measure for promoting parties. All major social media platforms have their own policies and regulations including Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Community Guidelines and other similar rules. Promoting parties shall comply with the provisions of the platforms when publishing works. Otherwise, as the subject of publication, the promoting party may face such disposition measures taken by the platform against its published content and account as removal, restriction, suspension or ban. Where the violation of social media platform policies or provisions is concurrent with circumstances such as intellectual property right infringement or losses caused to others, the promoting party may also bear legal liabilities.

4. The promoter shall pay attention to contractual and litigation risks.

As a downstream entity in the mini online drama industry chain, the promoter generally needs to enter into cooperation agreements with partners including mini online drama copyright holders, distribution platforms and advertisers. When executing such agreements, the promoter shall carefully review the contracts, particularly key clauses concerning authorized content, scope of services, rights and obligations, fees and payment terms, contract termination, liability for breach of contract, governing law and dispute resolution, so as to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and avoid litigation risks.

(II) Compliance Recommendations

1. Content Compliance: The Promoter shall ensure that the derivative works it creates and disseminates meet the requirements of laws and regulations as well as platform policies.

Laws and regulations have shown a trend of gradually tightening supervision over short web drama works. Videos generated from derivative creations including editing, film and television commentary and other forms are incorporated with a variety of new elements. If another person's portrait is used in a video, it will involve the issue of whether the right to portraiture of others is infringed. Video commentary and review content shall observe appropriate boundaries, and shall not commit acts such as insult, defamation, malicious slander and the like in the process of commentary. In addition to complying with mandatory legal provisions, promoted works shall also give consideration to factors such as public order and good morals, social ethics, etc.

2. Copyright Issues: The Promoter shall ensure that the content it promotes does not exceed the scope of authorization, and shall avoid infringing upon the intellectual property rights of any third party when using other materials.

As mentioned above, a distributor may only conduct secondary creation after obtaining authorization from the copyright owner of the short online drama; otherwise, it will constitute intellectual property rights infringement against the short online drama work itself. An agent that releases or promotes videos edited or processed without permission shall also bear infringement risks. Promoters shall pay close attention to the scope of authorization, authorization method, term of licensed use, and whether there are additional conditions attached to the authorization they have obtained. Some copyright owners will explicitly require that promoters must give attribution, shall not modify or distort the work, and comply with other requirements when carrying out promotion activities. In the meantime, where the promoted videos involve materials owned by a third party, promoters shall obtain legal authorization for such materials, or verify that the materials used have entered the public domain, or that their use of such materials falls within the scope of fair use and other legitimate categories.

3. Advertising Compliance: Where the promoted videos contain acts such as inserted advertisements and brand promotion, the promoting party shall ensure that its advertising release acts comply with the requirements of laws and regulations including the *Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China*, *Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising* and *Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests*.

*Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising* officially came into force on May 31, 2023. Article 2 of the Measures stipulates that: "Within the territory of the People's Republic of China, the provisions of the *Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China* and these Measures shall apply to commercial advertising activities that directly or indirectly promote goods or services in the form of text, image, audio, video or other forms, via internet media such as websites, web pages and internet applications." In respect of advertisement insertion in micro-short dramas, promoters shall pay closer attention to the specific provisions of the *Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising*. Matters not provided for therein shall still be governed by the *Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China*.

The research team reminds the promoter to pay attention to the provisions of Article 10 and Article 11 of the *Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising*. Article 10 stipulates: "Where Internet advertisements are released in such forms as pop-ups, advertisers and advertisement publishers shall prominently mark the close sign, ensure one-click closure, and shall not commit any of the following acts: (1) Having no close sign or requiring the end of timing before the advertisement can be closed; (2) Setting obstacles for closing the advertisement, such as the close sign being false, not clearly identifiable or difficult to locate; (3) Requiring more than two clicks to close the advertisement; (4) Continuing to pop up advertisements after closure in the process of browsing the same page or the same document, which affects users' normal use of the Internet; (5) Other acts affecting one-click closure. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply to splash screen advertisements displayed and released when launching Internet applications." Article 11 stipulates: "No one shall deceive or mislead users into clicking or browsing advertisements in the following ways: (1) False prompts such as system or software updates, error reports, cleaning, notifications and the like; (2) False signs such as play, start, pause, stop, return and the like; (3) False reward commitments; (4) Other ways of deceiving or misleading users into clicking or browsing advertisements."

It is evident from the aforesaid legal provisions that the *Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising* has tightened restrictions on short-video advertising on the basis of the *Advertising Law of the People's Republic of China*, with more detailed provisions. Therefore, when placing advertisements in short videos, relevant parties shall strictly abide by the relevant legal provisions to avoid complaints and penalties arising from violations of the aforesaid provisions. In addition, when placing advertisements, both advertisers and advertisement publishers shall conclude a written advertising contract, and perform the obligation of reasonable examination over the contents of the contract, including examining the identity of the advertiser, all qualification documents for relevant goods/services, and whether the promotional copy complies with the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law, and stipulate the assumption of liability for damage consequences.

4. Contract Review: It is recommended that contract review be conducted by legal professionals. Contract review is a necessary procedure for the promoting party before commencing business operations. Prior to signing a contract, the party shall carefully read the content of the contract and review each and every clause thereof item by item, so as to avoid potential legal disputes.

When handling a number of contract dispute cases, the Research Team has found that some clients, deeming that the subject matter is of small value or the transaction is relatively simple, either skip the procedure of entering into a contract or adopt contracts that have not been reviewed by professionals. As a result, the executed contracts fail to provide for key terms and conditions, nor do they stipulate clauses on the protection of their legitimate rights and interests. When a dispute arises between the parties to the contract afterwards, they will be exposed to the risk of losing the lawsuit due to the absence of a signed contract or deficiencies in the contract contents. Therefore, the Research Team recommends that where monetary transactions are involved, especially in business dealings, the parties concerned shall enter into detailed and comprehensive contracts as far as possible, and have such contracts drafted or reviewed by professionals, so as to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests to the maximum extent and avoid legal risks.