Contract Dispute Over Commercial Film Production Between an Xiamen Film Company and a Client

Case Summary

Plaintiff Xiamen [Name] Film & Culture Co., Ltd. entered into an "Advertising Production Contract" with Defendant Fujian [Name] Auto Sales Co., Ltd., agreeing that Plaintiff would produce a brand promotional video for Defendant. The total contract price was 86 ten thousand yuan, payable in three installments, with the final payment of 25.8 ten thousand yuan due upon acceptance of the completed video after successful inspection. Plaintiff produced and delivered the finished video based on the creative script and storyboards confirmed by both parties. After reviewing the video, Defendant refused to accept it and withheld the final payment of 25.8 ten thousand yuan, claiming the video did not meet their creative expectations and visual quality standards. Plaintiff filed a lawsuit requesting Defendant to pay the outstanding production fees and liquidated damages.

Key Dispute

1.Does the advertisement produced by the plaintiff conform to the creative script and storyboard requirements agreed upon by both parties?

2.Is the defendant's defense—that acceptance and payment of production fees should be withheld due to non-compliance with creative expectations—valid?

3.Does the liquidated damages claimed by the plaintiff comply with the contract agreement and applicable laws?

Case Strategy

1.Core evidence: Fixed commercial production contract, mutually confirmed creative script, storyboards, production records, final video, communication and revision logs, and payment demand notices.

2.Provide evidence that the plaintiff strictly followed the agreed-upon creative script and storyboards to shoot and produce the commercial, and that the final video fully complies with the script requirements.

3.Demonstrate that the defendant's defense regarding unmet creative expectations lacks contractual basis, as no specific creative requirements were stipulated in the script. Furthermore, the plaintiff fulfilled all contractual obligations by implementing multiple revisions based on the defendant's feedback.

4.Calculate the liquidated damages for the defendant's overdue payment based on the standard specified in the contract.

Processing Result

The court ruled that the defendant shall pay the plaintiff the remaining advertising production fee of 25.8 ten thousand yuan, plus liquidated damages for overdue payment calculated at a daily rate of 0.03% on the principal amount of 25.8 ten thousand yuan (from the due date of the final payment until the date of actual full payment). The defendant shall bear all litigation costs in this case.

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