UK-China Film & TV Toolkit
Updated 14 December 2021
© Crown copyright 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-china-film-tv-toolkit/uk-china-film-tv-toolkit
If you are a British company and would like more information - or to request a copy of the UK-China Film & TV Toolkit - please contact:
The UK-China Film & TV Toolkit is intended to help UK companies develop projects with Chinese partners. The Toolkit helps create a legal framework for the sharing of confidential ideas and intellectual property (IP) as part of the creative process. Version 1.0 of the Toolkit was published on August 26, 2016. Version 2.0 of the Toolkit was published on April 11, 2018. This is Version 3.0 of the Toolkit.
The Toolkit consists of:
- Module 1: A mutual, bilingual (English-Chinese) Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), designed to be consistent with Chinese law and industry practice, with alternative dispute resolution clauses for the NDA, one subject to Chinese court proceedings without arbitration and one specifying arbitration;
- Module 2: A template agreement designed for UK China Film and TV Co-Creation projects;
- Module 3: A template agreement designed for UK China Film & TV Co-Development projects; and
- Module 4: Explanatory notes to explain the Toolkit and its use and to assist in choosing the appropriate dispute resolution clause.
Version 3.0 of the Toolkit has been developed in response to questions and feedback from UK companies exploring creative projects in China. The Toolkit is intended to be sufficiently flexible for a range of possible applications and UK users, including creative companies, producers, sales companies, VFX houses and service providers such as film studios and consultants operating in the film or TV industries. Chinese parties can be either state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or private companies.
The Toolkit has been developed by the UK’s Intellectual Property Attaché to China (based in the British Embassy Beijing), the British Film Institute (BFI) and the Producers Alliance for Cinema & Television (PACT).
For more information on protecting IP in China please see the British Embassy Beijing IP & Film in China business factsheet and other materials on the Embassy IP webpage.
The Template Agreements in this Toolkit were drafted by Mathew Alderson in the Beijing affiliate office of Harris Bricken Attorneys & Consultants. The Explanatory Notes in this Toolkit were drafted by Mathew Alderson with contributions from the UK’s Intellectual Property Attaché to China.