The Shanghai “A” foreign company as the business innovation enterprise has an honor to invite The National Leaders to take a visit and the senior manager of “A” foreign company has been received by them, in the processes that they have investigated in Shanghai. After that, the “A” foreign company has put the pictures which The National Leaders has visited it (there have been the company’s Logo) into their websites, owned-businesses online stores, official accounts etc. and many self-media. The company has used these pictures as the featured advertising images. So, this advertising has been clicked and resent largely that broadly caused worse influences and misunderstandings. Then Shanghai Advertising Supervision Authority has found the ads, it has been thought by using local government images illegally. Subsequently, the A foreign company has fined 0.15millions and been showed this punishment records publicly. Due to the serious results, the senior managers of foreign company have been deposed by overseas HQ.

DongJin Remind:

Ads refer to China National Offices or the names and images of local governments of illegal behaviors are key regulatory directions by China Advertising Supervision Authority, it’s a “Red Line” enterprises cannot to touch absolutely.

In this case, although they’re real pictures that national leaders visited the “A” foreign company, it mustn’t use these news photos as featured advertising images to spread broadly.

About local government pictures, even if they are exactly real, it’s illegal advertisings for used-improperly pictures to be punished.

Therefore, DongJin point out related enterprises to strengthen the check of referring National Leader images, in order to avoid unnecessary penalties.

Mike Chang

Partner

mikechang@shanghaiinvest.com