Dacheng Takes an Active Part in the 28th SIFF and 31st STVF Market Events
From June 20 to 23, 2026, the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) and the 31st Shanghai Television Festival (STVF) were held in Shanghai. For the third consecutive year since 2024, Dacheng has taken an active part in key events of the film and television industry, including the Shanghai International Film Festival, steadily building its legal practice in the film and cultural sector and strengthening its professional capabilities and industry profile. At this year’s festivals, Dacheng had a visible presence at the international film and television market, hosting industry forums, running a market booth, and joining industry exchanges. This further strengthened communication and cooperation with industry associations, film and television institutions, and industry partners, and promoted closer integration between legal services and the film and television industry.
Hosting an Industry Forum: Focusing on Cutting-Edge Legal Issues in the Film Industry in the AI Era
On the afternoon of June 20, the “Legal Forum on Investment, Licensing, and Dispute Governance in Film and Television in the AI Era,” co-hosted by Dacheng Shanghai and Dacheng Beijing headquarters together with the Shanghai Internet Industry Federation and the Vancouver School of Arts (Shanghai), was successfully held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre.
As an important legal and professional exchange event within the industry segment of this year’s SIFF and STVF, the forum brought together senior lawyers from law firms, university scholars, legal counsel from leading entertainment enterprises, overseas lawyers, and industry experts. Discussions centred on key topics including investment decisions, IP licensing, copyright protection, cross-border rights enforcement, and the governance of emerging forms of infringement as AIGC permeates the entire film and television value chain, jointly exploring practical pathways for the coordinated development of technological innovation and copyright protection.
Fu Qiang, Deputy Director of the Dacheng Management Committee and Executive Director of Dacheng Shanghai, attended the forum and delivered the opening address. Chen Xiaoda, Vice President of the Vancouver School of Arts (Shanghai), also delivered remarks.
During the keynote sharing session, Li Weihua, Co-Lead of Dacheng’s Intellectual Property and Technology Innovation Committee and Head of the Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) Industry Group at Dacheng Shanghai, shared insights on “From Story to Film: Key Clause Design in Film Adaptation Licensing Contracts.” Fu Gang, Senior Partner at Dacheng Shanghai (pending filing), analysed “Differences in Film and Television Rights Enforcement Between China and the US—A Discussion Based on the ‘Sony v. Cox Communications’ Copyright Infringement Case.” Liu Wei, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Shanghai International College of Intellectual Property, Tongji University, interpreted cutting-edge issues in trademark law protection of film and television work titles.
Jiang Yurong, Senior Partner at Dacheng Beijing headquarters, delivered an in-depth industry presentation titled “Film and Television Investment in the AI Era—Fast-Moving Consumer Goods or Premium Content?” Drawing parallels with the systemic risks spawned by the high-speed turnover model in the real estate industry, Attorney Jiang analysed how AI technology has dramatically reduced computing costs and shortened production cycles in film and television, leading to a trend of mass-producing lightweight short dramas. She pointed out that the current market one-sidedly exaggerates AI’s low-cost advantage, only accounting for tool computing expenses while ignoring the core value of original creation such as world-building, narrative refinement, and humanistic vision. Tracing the underlying logic of artistic creation, Attorney Jiang emphasised that a work’s core competitiveness stems from the creator’s inner expression and emotional resonance. Blindly relying on AI assembly-line mass production not only sacrifices the creative process of content refinement but also limits young practitioners’ opportunities to learn and grow on the job, damaging the industry’s talent pipeline. Citing domestic cases of full-process AIGC animated films, she proposed that the industry should avoid being hijacked by technology, stay true to the underlying logic of “content is king,” and position AI as an auxiliary tool for improving quality and efficiency. Investors need to balance capital turnover efficiency with content quality, improve risk-prevention systems across the whole investment and financing chain, and promote the high-quality and sustainable development of the film and television industry.
Tang Haozhen, Senior Legal Expert at China Literature Group (Yuewen), analysed copyright protection related to AI large models. Liu Feng, Head of the Intellectual Property and Technology Innovation Group at Dacheng Shanghai and Senior Partner, systematically elaborated on the protection of intellectual property rights for film and television works in the artificial intelligence environment.
The roundtable forum, themed “New Legal Risks and Prevention in Film and Television in the AI Era,” was moderated by Ma Shibo, Partner at Dacheng Beijing headquarters. Yang Yuzhou, Member of the Dacheng Board of Directors and Director of the Dacheng Shanghai Center for Online Reputation Response and Governance; Chen Xiaoda, Vice President of the Vancouver School of Arts (Shanghai); Wang Juan, Partner at Dacheng Beijing headquarters; Dai Yuhao, Attorney at Sheppard Mullin (US); and Luolida, Partner at Dacheng Shanghai (pending filing), participated in the discussion.
Panelists exchanged views on new legal issues arising from AI technology’s deep integration into the film and television industry chain, conducting in-depth discussions on hot topics ranging from copyright ownership and infringement determination of AI-generated content, full-process compliance management of film projects, cross-border copyright licensing and rights enforcement, online reputation risk prevention mechanism construction, to the protection of personality rights including digital humans, digital avatars, and artists’ voices and likenesses. Drawing on the latest domestic and international practical cases and industry development trends, panelists shared professional perspectives and practical experience on how to balance technological innovation with rights protection and promote the standardised and orderly development of the film and television industry.
During the exchange, panelists unanimously agreed that AI technology is reshaping the creation, production, and dissemination models of film and television content. While embracing technological innovation, the industry needs to establish corresponding legal rules and governance systems. In the future, further efforts should be made to strengthen industry self-discipline and cross-sector collaboration, promoting the joint participation of legal service institutions, universities, platform enterprises, and industry organisations in rule-making, and improving mechanisms for copyright protection, data compliance, personality rights protection, and risk prevention, to provide more comprehensive legal safeguards for the intelligent development of the film and television industry.
This forum brought together representatives from the legal profession, academia, the film and television industry, and international professional institutions, fully leveraging the synergistic advantages of legal, industrial, academic, and international resources. It conducted multi-dimensional and in-depth exchanges on cutting-edge issues facing the film and television industry in the AI era, providing valuable insights and practical references for the industry to seize opportunities and address challenges brought by new technologies. The lively on-site exchanges received widespread attention and positive feedback from attendees and industry professionals, further demonstrating Dacheng’s professional influence and industry leadership in the fields of film, entertainment, and intellectual property legal services.
Appearing at the International Film and Television Market: Showcasing Dacheng’s Comprehensive Film and Television Legal Service Capabilities
As an important exhibiting institution at this year’s International Film and Television Market, Dacheng continued to set up an independent booth to participate in market activities. In 2026, the Shanghai International Film Festival Market (SIFF MARKET) and the Shanghai Television Festival Market (STVF MARKET) merged and upgraded into the “International Film and Television Market,” covering the entire film and television industry chain including films, long-form dramas, and micro short dramas, becoming one of the most influential comprehensive industry exchange platforms in China’s film and television industry.
During the event, Dacheng showcased its overall capabilities in film and entertainment legal services, its industry service track record, professional honours, and comprehensive service systems, presenting its professional experience and representative achievements in film and television investment and financing, copyright operation and protection, intellectual property dispute resolution, film project compliance management, and cross-border cultural project services.
Lawyers from multiple offices across the country gathered at the booth to conduct extensive communications with film and television production companies, copyright agencies, platform enterprises, universities, and industry service institutions, engaging in in-depth exchanges on industry hot topics such as film project development, copyright transactions, content going overseas, and AI application compliance. The booth attracted numerous industry practitioners to stop and consult, creating favourable opportunities for further expanding industry cooperation resources and deepening client relationships.
Meanwhile, Dacheng also actively participated in various industry exchange activities held during the International Film and Television Market, maintaining close interaction with industry associations, film and television enterprises, and professional service institutions, continuously staying abreast of the latest industry developments and market demands, and accumulating practical experience for further enhancing legal service capabilities in the film and cultural sector.
Invited to Participate in Industry Forums: Continuously Contributing Professional Perspectives
On the afternoon of June 23, the “Digital Intelligence, Compliance for the Long Term—Legal Regulation and Rights Protection of AI Applications in the Film and Television Industry” legal-business forum, hosted by the Legal Affairs Committee of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and co-organised with Dacheng’s participation, was successfully held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre. Su Xiao, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, and Yang Zi, Director of the Legal Affairs Committee, were invited to attend. Shen Honggang, Secretary-General of the Legal Affairs Committee, moderated the forum.
The forum specially invited Wang Qian, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at East China University of Political Science and Law, to deliver a keynote speech, conducting an in-depth analysis on the hot topic “Is a Video Produced Using Artificial Intelligence a ‘Work’?”
Starting from the definition of “creation” in copyright law, Professor Wang pointed out that creation must be an intellectual activity that “directly produces” a work, and human free will must directly determine expressive elements. AI-generated content is primarily determined by algorithms and training data; prompts can only exert indirect influence and cannot constitute an act of creation in the copyright law sense. Regarding the 2023 Beijing Internet Court “first AI text-to-image case,” Professor Wang offered different views and demonstrated through experiments the vast differences in generated results when the same prompt is used across different AI programs, different versions, and even different hardware configurations, arguing that AI should not be simply analogised to a “paintbrush” or “camera.” For AI-generated videos, he suggested protection as “compilation works” while distinguishing between recognising a work and finding infringement, noting that when a user inputs a script and AI generates a video, what is created is the script rather than an audiovisual work, but disseminating that video may still infringe the user’s script copyright.
Jiang Yurong, Senior Partner at Dacheng and Expert Committee Member of the Legal Affairs Committee of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association, shared insights on “Innovation and Survival in the Film Industry—Compliance for the Long Term.” Drawing on theatrical film cases and full-process AIGC animation practical experience, she mapped out the legal risks behind AI-assisted film production and presented standardised compliance solutions covering the entire project lifecycle. Citing two low-cost hit films as examples, Attorney Jiang pointed out that quality original content is the core competitiveness of the film industry; AI can only serve as an auxiliary tool to compress production cycles and reduce costs, and the industry should not blindly pursue technological efficiency at the expense of content foundations. She analysed industry pain points through China’s first full-process AIGC theatrical animated film: AI-generated content suffers from uncontrollable expression issues compounded by ambiguous ownership delineation, and theatrical feature films must strictly adhere to compliance baselines. Meanwhile, AI micro short dramas with rapid iteration and short cycles generally face high rights enforcement costs and difficulty in holding infringers to account, and the industry has little incentive to comply.
On the issue of AI content ownership determination, Attorney Jiang clarified that the core requirement for copyright protection is sufficient and fully documentable human creative labour. Personnel merely responsible for selecting AI materials do not qualify as creators; only lead creators who complete world-building, original scripts, storyboard design, and implement reconstructive secondary creation of AI materials can be recognised as legitimate rights holders. Enterprises must completely retain prompt modification records, shot adjustment drafts, material modification files, and other documentation for digital evidence preservation. Attorney Jiang specifically reminded practitioners that various AI creation platform user agreements have different provisions on ownership, with significant differences between platform terms. Some tools cannot guarantee exclusive commercial rights for generated content, and free accounts may even contain commercial prohibition clauses that conflict with statutory property rights under copyright law. She offered practical risk control recommendations: enterprises should uniformly use paid commercial accounts for AI creation, completely retain platform registration credentials, user agreements, and operation logs, and clarify the ownership boundaries of materials and finished products from the source. Attorney Jiang concluded that technological change will not alter the underlying creative logic of the film industry; while embracing AI innovation dividends, the industry needs to build standardised AI compliance management systems, balancing innovative development with legal red lines to promote long-term steady industry growth.
Multiple guests from the film, legal, and platform enterprise sectors conducted roundtable discussions on topics including virtual idol protection and platform AI compliance practices. Dacheng lawyers’ participation not only demonstrated the firm’s cutting-edge research capabilities at the intersection of film, entertainment, and artificial intelligence, but also further consolidated close collaborative relationships with industry associations and industry partners.
On the morning of June 24, the “Special Symposium on Legal Standards for AI Applications in the Film and Television Industry,” hosted by the Legal Affairs Committee of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and co-organised by Shanghai Shanwei Law Firm, was held at Shanghai Tower. Currently, the National Radio and Television Administration is conducting a special investigation into AI applications in the film and television sector, broadly soliciting frontline legal practice information from the industry as policy reference. With the widespread implementation of AI-generated scripts, digital human appearances, intelligent editing, and AI-created short dramas, new disputes and risks are increasingly prominent in areas such as AI content ownership delineation, training material copyright infringement, virtual image personality rights protection, and AI content regulatory compliance.
Jiang Yurong, Senior Partner at Dacheng, and Wang Juan, Partner, were invited to attend and exchange views with industry peers on relevant topics. Dacheng’s continued participation helps lawyers maintain an understanding of industry practices and stay closer to the real needs of the business frontline, while further deepening professional connections with industry associations, film and television enterprises, and peer institutions through daily exchanges.
Looking ahead, Dacheng will continue to closely monitor the reshaping of film industry rules by AI technology, actively participate in industry governance and rule-making, and provide solid legal safeguards for the intelligent transformation of the film and television industry.
Deepening Industry Services: Supporting Innovative Development of the Film and Television Industry
In recent years, Dacheng has continuously focused on the development of the film and cultural industry, actively participating in key industry events including the Beijing International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, and China Television Drama Production Industry Conference, and continuously deepening the construction of its film and entertainment legal service system through industry forums, research projects, professional training, and client services.
Looking ahead, Dacheng will continue to leverage its integrated platform advantages, focusing on cutting-edge fields including film and entertainment, intellectual property, artificial intelligence, data compliance, and cross-border business. It will continuously strengthen exchanges and cooperation with industry regulatory authorities, industry associations, film and television enterprises, and professional institutions, deeply understand industry needs, actively explore innovative pathways for legal services, and provide strong legal safeguards for the high-quality development of China’s film and television industry with more professional, efficient, and forward-looking legal service capabilities.