How should a foreign company cooperate with a C...
Chinese films are divided into Domestic Films and Films Produced under China-foreign Cooperation.Films Produced under China-Foreign Cooperation are generally divided into three categories depending on the different cooperative modes: Joint Production, Assisted Production and Entrusted Production.(1) A Joint-Production Film is a film shot by a China-based film producer and a foreign producer that features joint investments (including funding, labor and materials), joint filming,and joint sharing of both benefits and risks.Such films are subject to preferential policies that are typically applied to domestic Chinese films within the Chinese marketplace.(2) An Assisted-Production Film is a foreign-invested film that is produced in a China setting.The Chinese partner assists a foreign producer in providing settings or filming locations, facilities and labor at the cost of the foreign producer, but will not own the copyrights as an assisting party.The assisted film must go through import formalities as an imported film and is not subject to the preferential policies typically applied to domestic Chinese films.(3) An Entrusted-Production Film is a film which a foreign party has fully entrusted a Chinese party to produce according to specified content and technical requirements.The Chinese party completes all work at the expense of the foreign party, but will not own the copyrights.
Among them, “Assisted-Production Flims” and “Entrusted-Production Films” are treated as imported films, while “Joint-Production Films” can enjoy treatment as Domestic Films, which means that Joint-Production Films are not subject to the restrictions on the quota limit of imported films, and the proportion of accounts of this kind of films will be higher than imported films; it is the first choice for many Chinese and foreign film co-productions.There are still some differences in the practical process from Domestic Films, such as the different filing documents before the project is established: Joint-Productions generally require the script to be filed, while Domestic Films of general theme only require filing the abstract of the film.
Given China’s huge movie viewing market, imported films also have huge markets and advantages.China’s imported films for theater publication can be divided into revenue-sharing films and imported buy-out films from the introduction form.(1) Imported revenue-sharing films are the films that enjoy the box office share of the film in mainland China according to the ratio of revenue sharing.The copyright owners of such films do not sell out the distribution rights, and the producers of foreign films only entrust domestic distributors to distribute them in mainland China.Imported Revenue-sharing films are exclusively imported by China Film Group Corporation (CFGC) and distributed by CFGC and Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd.The original film quota was 20 per year.14 enhanced format films (e.g.3D or IMAX) have been added to the quota following China and the United States’ WTO agreement in 2012.(2) Imported buy-out films are also distributed by CFGC and Huaxia Film Distribution Co., Ltd.The copyright owners of such films sell the distribution rights of a certain period of time in a country or region one-time and at a fixed price without participating in the box office share.Unlike the quota restrictions in the field of theater publication, the number of overseas movies (which are not for theater publication) introduced in China each year through the Internet and new media platforms, television stations, audiovisual publishing, etc.,is in the thousands.(https://www.daowen.com)
However, based on the significant differences in the laws, a policies,languages, and special national conditions of each country, it is recommended that foreign entities seek advice and services from professional lawyers who are familiar with Chinese entertainment laws and proficient in English before entering the Chinese market or before choosing domestic partners to avoid falling into various risks such as unequal transactions.
Picture 14 Film Classification in Chinese Law and Practice