Recently, the finalist list for the 8th “Original Aspiration Awards”—a major and influential ranking in the film and television industry established under the guidance of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and the Capital Radio and Television Program Producers Association—was officially released. With its long-standing credibility and forward-looking perspective, the award has been regarded as a “barometer” for trends in content development and talent recognition in the film and television sector. Lawyer Gao Qiang, Senior Partner at Landing Law Offices, stood out from intense competition with his extensive practical experience and outstanding service capabilities in the cultural media and entertainment industries, earning a place as a finalist in the Entertainment Law Contribution category.

The “Original Aspiration Awards” is one of the most authoritative and reputable professional awards for selecting outstanding young talent in China’s film and television industry. Guided by the Beijing Municipal Radio and Television Bureau and organized by the China Television Drama Production Industry Association and the Capital Radio and Television Program Producers Association, it is undertaken by the Youth Working Committee of the China Television Drama Production Industry Association. It serves as a comprehensive “Film and Television Industry Ecosystem Conference,” bringing together drama broadcasters and content providers across long-form, mid-form, and short-form productions, facilitating collaboration across the industry value chain, and providing a platform for young talent and their works.

The final judging panel is not fixed each year. The Organizing Committee conducts in-depth discussions on nominated candidates based on the emerging talents and works of the year, finalizing the list after multiple rounds of deliberation that balance both comprehensiveness and forward-looking judgment. This year’s expert panel includes leading industry figures such as Zhao Yifang, Chairwoman of Huace Group; Liu Yanming, Founder and Chairman of Hairun Film & TV; Zeng Yingxue, Senior Vice President of Perfect World and Head of Film & TV Business; Guo Jingyu, Chairman of Changxin Media; and Cao Ping, Co-founder and President of Chunyu Films.

Notably, in addition to the drama-sector judges, 14 experts from the cultural and entertainment law field were specially invited this year. These include academic representatives Professors Wang Qian, Zheng Ning, and Yang Ji; senior in-house legal counsel from major video platforms; practicing entertainment lawyers; and previous winners of the “Outstanding Entertainment Lawyer of the Year” award. Drawing upon deep academic foundations, professional insight, extensive case-handling experience, and rich industry practice, these experts brought multidimensional perspectives to the evaluation process, helping to identify and recommend emerging talent whose achievements can withstand the test of time and market scrutiny.

Gao Qiang
Senior Partner, Landing Law Offices
qiang.gao@landinglawyer.com

Lawyer Gao serves as Director of the Intellectual Property Department at Landing (Shanghai) Law Offices and as an external mentor at the School of Law of Shanghai University. He was recognized in the Chambers Greater China Region Guide 2024 as a Recommended Lawyer in Intellectual Property (Litigation) and was listed among the “Top 50 Chinese IP Lawyers Under 50” (2024). From 2021 to 2023, he was consecutively named in Business Law’s The A-List as one of China’s leading lawyers, and was recognized as a 2022 ALB China Client Choice Lawyer and a 2022 ALB China East China Rising Lawyer.

With more than thirteen years of legal practice experience, Lawyer Gao specializes in cross-border intellectual property services and is particularly skilled in handling major and complex IP and unfair competition disputes involving trademarks, copyrights, patents, and trade secrets in the internet, high-tech, and digital cultural industries. He has represented clients in several nationally influential cases, including the Huya “huya.com.cn” infringement/unfair competition case—the first unfair competition dispute in China arising from domain-name redirection—and the zhoulibo.com domain name ownership dispute involving Zhou Libo, which was selected as one of the Top 10 Typical IP Judicial Protection Cases in Shanghai (2012) and one of the Top 50 Typical IP Cases of the Supreme People’s Court (2012).