Advertising, sponsorship and content-rights projects in China require two connected maps. The compliance map identifies the advertiser, agency, publisher, platform, sponsor, endorser and regulated claims. The rights map identifies who owns or controls the programme, event, footage, music, artwork, performance, name, image, trademark, statistics and promotional assets.
Build both maps before launch. Preserve the campaign brief, product and audience classification, substantiation, media plan, sponsorship inventory, exclusivity grid, rights chain, talent approvals, licences, platform terms, Chinese-language master, publication versions, monitoring records, takedowns and settlement data. A commercial contract cannot grant rights its counterparty does not own or remove statutory advertising duties.
Subject to editorial and legal review. Product category, claim, channel, audience, rights owner, talent, territory and campaign mechanics materially affect the analysis. Official Chinese texts and regulator decisions control.
Identify each legal role
Determine who is the advertiser, advertising operator, publisher, internet information-service provider, endorser, sponsor, rights owner, licensee, producer, event organiser and platform. One participant may occupy several roles. Contract labels do not control where actual conduct shows that a party designed, approved, published or recommended the commercial message.
Separate inventory from underlying rights
Sponsorship inventory may include naming, signage, broadcast exposure, digital content, hospitality, tickets, category exclusivity, athlete or artist access, merchandise and data activation. For each item, identify the underlying intellectual-property, personality, venue, association, publisher and platform permissions. Confirm whether the seller owns the right, holds an adequate licence, or still needs third-party consent.
Classify the commercial message
The Advertising Law applies when goods or services are directly or indirectly promoted through a medium or form. Sponsorship, brand integration, product placement, influencer content, livestreams, advertorials and event activation can constitute advertising. Determine identifiability, disclosure, approval and sector restrictions from the substance and presentation rather than the campaign label.
Substantiate claims before publication
Create a claims register covering product characteristics, performance, price, awards, rankings, audience figures, sustainability, comparisons and testimonials. Link each objective claim to current evidence, scope limitations, expiry and an accountable owner. Review the overall impression, omissions, translations, visuals and spoken content; a technically accurate fragment can still mislead in context.
Restricted content, products and audiences
Screen prohibited expressions and claims under the Advertising Law and apply sector-specific rules for products such as healthcare, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, food, finance, education, alcohol and tobacco. Assess minors exposure, public-order and content rules. Do not assume a global asset, sports placement or entertainment setting avoids China-specific restrictions.
Internet, influencer and livestream advertising
The Internet Advertising Measures regulate commercial advertising through websites, applications and other internet media. They address identifiability, linked content, pop-ups, algorithmic delivery, livestreams, records and platform roles. Lock creator briefs and approval processes, verify actual-use requirements for endorsers, monitor live deviations, and retain the published version and commercial relationship evidence.
Copyright and neighbouring rights
Clear scripts, copy, photography, artwork, animation, audiovisual works, software, databases, music compositions, sound recordings, performances and broadcasts. Define the licensed rights, media, territory, language, term, exclusivity, editing, localisation, sublicensing, promotion, archive and enforcement authority. The Copyright Law separately protects works and related rights, so a recording may require multiple permissions.
Name, image, voice and reputation
The Civil Code protects name, portrait, reputation, privacy and related personality interests. Talent and participant releases should identify the permitted content, purpose, channels, territory, term, editing and synthetic-media uses. Ambiguous portrait licences can be interpreted in favour of the portrait holder. Copyright ownership in a photograph does not itself authorise commercial use of the depicted person's image.
Trademarks, event marks and ambush risk
Verify ownership and licensed scope for brands, team and league marks, mascots, competition names, venue branding and merchandise. Review descriptive and nominative uses, domain names, hashtags, search advertising and packaging. Non-sponsors should avoid creating a false association with an event or rights holder, while sponsors should define practical protection against conflicting activation and unauthorised inventory.
Contract the sponsorship lifecycle
Specify inventory delivery, approval timelines, exclusivity categories, reserved rights, talent availability, production responsibility, measurement, make-goods, cancellation, force majeure, morality and brand-safety provisions, regulatory change, infringement response and refund methodology. Align termination outcomes with media commitments, ticketing, content takedown, merchandise sell-off and continuing archive use.
Data, measurement and promotions
Map personal information collected through ticketing, memberships, competitions, QR codes, fan activations, pixels and audience measurement. Define controller or entrusted-processing roles, notices, consent where required, retention, security and cross-border transfers. Prize draws, virtual items, fan prediction and promotional mechanics require separate consumer, pricing and gambling-risk classification.
Monitoring and enforcement
Monitor agency, distributor, creator, fan and platform use against the approved asset library. Preserve screenshots, recordings, URLs, timestamps, account data, invoices and contracts. Use correction, takedown, platform complaints, administrative reports, civil remedies and contractual enforcement proportionately, while protecting evidence before content disappears.
Working-file checklist
- Role map for advertiser, agency, publisher, platform, sponsor and rights parties.
- Campaign classification, claims register and sector review.
- Sponsorship inventory, exclusivity matrix and delivery evidence.
- Copyright, music, performance, image, name and trademark chain.
- Talent, creator, event, venue, league and platform approvals.
- Chinese master assets, translations and publication versions.
- Data, measurement, competition and consumer-protection analysis.
- Monitoring, takedown, incident, make-good and settlement records.
Official sources
- Advertising Law
- Internet Advertising Measures
- Copyright Law
- Civil Code, including personality rights
- China Advertising and Marketing Law Guide for Foreign Brands
Law checked: September 12, 2026. Confirm both the compliance roles and the underlying rights chain before launch.
