Advertising series (3): The Spring Festival movie is hot and fast, and the cinema advertising screening requirements, how much do you know?
Author | Intellectual Property Center, Elephant Migration Team
(Original by the elephant migration team, welcome to share, please indicate the source when reprinting)
Part I, Introduction
Watching movies is an important part of our daily life. Action, comedy, science fiction, horror, pure love, war, suspense, there is always one that makes your heart beat.
This year, the Spring Festival film box office debate is still in full swing. According to the Lighthouse Professional Edition APP data, as of noon on February 26, 2024, the cumulative box office of "Hot Hot" 3.29 billion, "Flying Life 2" cumulative box office 3.063 billion, "Article 20" cumulative box office 2.068 billion, "Bear Haunt · Reverse Time and Space" cumulative box office 1.828 billion, the first four films of the Spring Festival have accumulated more than
10billion.
(Image source: screenshot of the Lighthouse Pro APP)
Benefiting from the booming film economy, advertising revenue has become an important part of theater revenue. Each theater has different arrangements for advertising hours, but this time may be legally required
What are the legal restrictions on advertising in cinemas?
The second part, how much do cinema advertising requirements know?
The legal requirement for cinema advertising must first revert to the Film Industry Promotion Law. Article 32 (2) of the law specifies the restrictive requirement for cinema advertising, that is, "cinemas shall not show advertisements after the opening time of the film to the audience until the end of the film screening."
If the cinema violates the screening requirements, the film department of the people's government at the county level may issue a warning, order corrections, and impose fines.
To put it simply, when we purchase a movie ticket, we can learn the viewing time from the ticketing APP, cinema, etc., that is, the time when the movie starts and ends; as shown in the following pictures, the viewing time of the two movies is 19:10 to 21:19, 20:10 to 22:19. During the above two time periods, theaters are not allowed to show advertisements.
(Image source: Screenshot of Tao Ticket)
Looking further, cinema advertisements are generally concentrated before the movie starts, which is by nature a pre-screening advertisement; the impact on our viewing experience is also concentrated in this time period. In the above example, the cinema should ensure that the film has been officially screened at 19:10 and 20:10, otherwise it may be suspected of violating the provisions of the Film Industry Promotion Law and incur administrative penalties.
The third part, those typical cases
The number of punishment cases for cinema advertising violations is small, and the author lists a few examples for readers to review and understand.
Key cases
Case 1Administrative penalty case of a film park in Urumqi
On March 24, 2023, the Urumqi Cultural Market Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Team received a report from the masses that a movie park in Urumqi did not show the movie on time.
On March 28, the law enforcement officers of the Urumqi Cultural Market Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Team conducted a law enforcement inspection of the film park. At 17:35, the law enforcement officers, accompanied by the person in charge of the scene, entered the No. 5 screening hall. The ticket showed that the film "Meghan" was playing at 17:40 in Hall 5. Advertisements were being screened on the screen in the screening hall. The content of the advertisements was banking, insurance, Baijiu, milk powder, real estate, new film trailers, etc. At 17:45, the film "Meghan" was officially screened.
Law enforcement officers saw a delayed screening in Hall 6 in the monitoring room of the venue.
The company showed advertisements after the start of the film screening time and before the end of the screening, which violated the provisions of Article 32, paragraph 2, of the Film Industry Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China. According to Article 51, paragraph 2, of the Film Industry Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, the parties shall be subject to administrative penalties.
With reference to the provisions of Articles 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the Measures for the Application of the Discretionary Power of Administrative Penalty in Comprehensive Law Enforcement in the Cultural Market, the administrative penalty for warning shall be decided upon.
Case 2A business information service company in Jiangsu released an illegal advertisement case
At 13:37 on February 22, 2022, Tian Jiemin and Xu Guogang, law enforcement officers of the comprehensive administrative law enforcement team of the cultural market in Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City, presented the "Administrative Law Enforcement Certificate of the People's Republic of China" to Zhu Xiangyi, manager of Hangzhou Dou S Film and Television Investment Co., Ltd. and informed the relevant rights and obligations. After conducting a law enforcement inspection on the company according to law, it was found that the cinema ticketing system showed that the movie "Watergate Bridge of Changjin Lake" in Hall 3 of the cinema was broadcast from 14:00-16:29.
Law enforcement officers accompanied by Zhu Xiangyi went to Hall 3 of the cinema for inspection and found that the film scheduled to be screened at 14:00 was still showing advertisements after 14:00, and the advertisements were played until 14:03.
According to the provisions of Article 32, Paragraph 2 of the Film Industry Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, the behavior of the parties involved is suspected that the cinema showed advertisements after the opening time of the film to the audience and before the end of the film screening, which disrupted the normal business order of the film industry.
Case 3Hengdian film and television joint stock company Yichun branch administrative penalty case
In 2019, Hengdian film and television joint stock company Yichun branch screened advertisements after the film screening time was clearly indicated to the audience and before the film screening ended. This behavior violated the second paragraph of Article 32 of the Film Industry Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China. "Cinemas shall not show advertisements after the start of the film screening time and before the end of the film screening."
Yichun City Culture, Radio, Television, Press, Publication and Tourism Bureau, in accordance with Article 51, Paragraph 2 of the Film Industry Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, imposed a fine of 20,000 yuan as an administrative penalty.
The "Film Industry Promotion Law" strictly limits the time for cinemas to broadcast advertisements, protecting our rights as audiences.
When you feel that the waiting time before the movie is broadcast and the advertising time is too long, it is better to check the time and see if your viewing time has been quietly "stolen" by the cinema advertisement...
Lawyer Profile
Lawyer Jin Linxi
(Lawyer Erxi)
Full-time lawyer of
Own dual work experience as a lawyer and an Internet company
Difficult cases delve into people, hand-guided tractors, problem solvers
Some experience in advertising compliance, some experience in the Internet field
I have some experience with trademark copyright and a bit of dabbling in pan-entertainment culture
Contact email: erxiii@163.com
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