Dehe Talk Episode 3: Exploring the Company Governance, Promotion Compliance and Capital Layout Behind the Success of Short Plays
Regarding "Dehe Talk"
"DeheTalk" is an important part of the 20th anniversary series of activities of Dehe Hantong Law Firm. The event mainly takes the form of discussions and sharing by lawyers from multiple offices, senior experts in the field, and industry guests, and focuses on in-depth exchanges on cutting-edge theories and practical issues.
In the context where the short-form drama industry has reached a market size of over 100 billion yuan and the number of users is approaching 700 million, this emerging field is accelerating from the "explosion of traffic" towards "standardized development". Behind the popularity of short dramas, it not only indicates the rapid iteration of business models and content ecosystems, but also poses higher standards and more specialized requirements for legal application, risk prevention and enterprise governance. Especially in areas such as project financing and investment, labor employment, publicity compliance and equity structure design, legal services have gradually moved from traditional dispute resolution to full-process governance and front-end risk control.
On April 1, 2026, the Governance Business Committee of DHHT Law FirmShanghai and the Media and Entertainment Business Committee of DHHT Law Firm Shanghai jointly held the third session of the "DeheTalk" series of themed salons - "The Legal Logic Behind the Popularity of Short Plays: Corporate Governance, Marketing Compliance and Capital Layout". This event focused on the full-chain legal practical issues in the short film industry, and conducted in-depth exchanges around core topics such as corporate governance, marketing compliance and capital layout, aiming to empower the industry's high-quality development through a professional legal perspective. The meeting was chaired by Lawyer Zhang Yiwen, the Secretary of the Governance Business Committee of DHHT Law Firm Shanghai.
01 Opening Remarks
Mao Yuying, the director of the Shanghai Media and Entertainment Business Committee of Dehehan, delivered the opening speech. She analyzed the current scale of the short drama industry and the evolution of its monetization models, pointing out that short dramas have evolved from a single content form to a complex business model that integrates funds, traffic, technology and cultural elements. During this transformation process, the operational logic of the industry has constantly changed, and the focus and intervention methods of legal services have also expanded accordingly. As a result, the professional boundaries of law have been continuously reshaped.
02 Topic Discussion
1. First Half
Lawyer Luo Lidao, a partner of Beijing Dacheng (Shanghai) Law Firm, shared his insights on legal practices related to TV show production and artist endorsements based on his years of experience in the entertainment industry. He systematically dissected the key points for reviewing endorsement contracts from eight core dimensions, including confirmation of the contracting party, definition of endorsement levels, online and offline work norms, and design of anti-collapse clauses. He also shared the compliance and risk control strategies for both artists and brand owners, providing actionable legal references for industry practice.
Ji Qingying, a partner of DHHT Law Firms Shanghai office and the director of the Governance Business Committee of DHHT Law Firm Shanghai Company, made a summary and sharing based on her rich practical experience. She pointed out that legal services should combine the optimization and revision of contract terms with the logic of business cooperation, improve the internal control mechanism from the perspective of company governance, effectively protect the interests of enterprises, and enhance the influence and role of legal services in various industries.
2. Second Half
Zhang Yajiao, a lawyer from Tongmao Law Firm, combined her practical experience in the transformation of traditional long-form drama companies into short-form ones to provide a professional interpretation of industry changes such as platform guarantee policies adjustments and new regulations for script submissions. She pointed out that the short-form drama industry is currently in the stage of quantity to quality transition, emphasized the importance of content and compliance, and believed that these two aspects will become the core logic of future industry development.
The attending lawyers conducted in-depth discussions on four major sections: project financing, labor employment, publicity compliance, and corporate governance. They analyzed the industry's pain points by referring to practical cases, including the strict guarantee clause design in project financing, the new challenges brought by AI short dramas regarding copyright and personality rights, labor risks in flexible employment models, and the compliance boundaries of traffic placement in the publicity process, etc.
Lawyer Wang Yu, a partner of DHHT Law Firm's Shanghai office and the director of the Governance Business Committee of DHHT Law FirmShanghai Company, delivered the summary. She pointed out that the distinct characteristics of the short-video industry have placed higher demands on corporate governance. The continuous explosion of the short-video industry essentially stems from the content sector. The corporate governance capabilities, organizational efficiency, and capital operation logic are also closely related to it, which reflects the comprehensive capabilities of the enterprises.
03 Summary Speech
Zhang Yao, the managing partner of the Shanghai office of DHHT Law Firm Law Firm, stated that this seminar was a successful example of cross-disciplinary collaboration between the two business committees, fully demonstrating the firm's professional depth and comprehensive service capabilities in the field of entertainment law. She also expressed the hope that more similar seminars could be held in the future to further promote communication and experience sharing among colleagues.
The successful holding of this seminar has enhanced the knowledge exchange and experience sharing within the legal services industry, and also helps to further deepen Dehe Hantong's professional depth in the cultural and entertainment field. In the future, Dehe Hantong will continue to uphold the concepts of "diligence, craftsmanship, and excellence", focusing on legal practices in emerging industries such as short plays and AI entertainment, and continuously deepen cross-domain professional collaboration, providing solid legal guarantees for new business models to achieve innovative development and commercial breakthroughs within the framework of compliance.
