WIPO中国：知识产权资产和电影融资——在美国是如何运作的

电影制作是高风险的项目。每一部新电影都是一个独特的创造性项目，很难保证它会取得商业上的成功，这使得投资方难以评估电影项目，也使得电影制作方难以为自己的项目提供资金。（图：BlackJack3D / E+）

Filmmaking is a highly risky venture. Each new film is a unique creative project with little guarantee that it will achieve commercial success, making it difficult for financiers to evaluate film projects and or filmmakers to finance their projects. (Photo: BlackJack3D / E+)

电影制作是高风险的项目。由于制作电影的成本非常高，因此所有电影制作项目的关键通常都是获得融资。然而，由于每一部新电影都是一个独特的创造性项目，很难保证它会吸引到感兴趣的观众，取得商业上的成功，甚至是实现收支平衡。在投资方看来，这使得电影项目难以评估。对于电影制作方来说，这使得电影项目的融资成为一个巨大的挑战。

Filmmaking is a highly risky venture. As films can be very expensive to make, securing financing is often a critical part of any filmmaking project. Yet, as each new film is a unique creative project, there is little guarantee that it will find interested audiences, achieve commercial success or even break-even. From the perspective of the financier, this makes film projects difficult to evaluate. And for filmmakers, it makes financing a film project a big challenge.

产权组织的新研究阐明了在美国电影制作方获得电影制作和发行资金的标准做法。作为全世界收入最高的电影产业（Statista 2023），美国的电影产业在制作和发行一些有史以来最昂贵的电影方面非常成功。其中包括2023年《芭比》等大热电影，《芭比》估计耗资1.45亿美元（Collider 2023）。美国电影制作方还受益于一个高度复杂的金融体系，这使他们可以用自己的 知识产权和其他无形资产作为抵押获取贷款，来开发他们的项目。这一点尤其有意义，因为电影项目通常很少有可以用作贷款抵押品的有形资产，而且许多电影制作人没有足够的个人资金来为一部电影提供资金。

New WIPO research sheds light on the standard practices that filmmakers use to obtain funding for the production and distribution of a film in the USA. As the largest film industry in the world by revenue (Statista 2023), the US film industry is highly successful in terms of  producing and distributing some of the most expensive (to produce) films of all time. This includes hits such as 2023’s Barbie which cost an estimated 145 million USD (Collider 2023). Filmmakers in the US also benefit from a highly sophisticated financial system that makes it possible for them to use their intellectual property (IP) and other intangible assets as collateral to secure loans to develop their projects. This is particularly relevant since film projects often have very few tangible assets that can be used as collateral for loans, and many filmmakers do not have sufficient personal funds to finance a movie themselves.

重要发现

Key findings

知识产权在美国电影债务融资中被广泛用作抵押品。大约35%的贷款将某种形式的无形资产——包括知识产权——用作抵押品。

IP has been widely used as collateral in US film debt finance. About 35 percent of loans have used some form of intangible – including IP – asset as collateral.

联合制作、银团贷款、担保和保险是为电影提供融资的各方用来分担和转移风险的重要策略。

流媒体平台的加入使内容分发的竞争加剧。主要参与者越来越倾向于独家使用现有的知识产权。

Co-production, loan syndication, guarantees and insurance are important strategies used by those financing films to share and transfer risk.

流媒体平台的加入使内容分发的竞争加剧。主要参与者越来越倾向于独家使用现有的知识产权。

The entry of streaming platforms has increased competition for content to distribute. Key players increasingly prefer to exploit existing intellectual property exclusively.

产权组织的研究给出的主要政策建议包括，为年轻制片人提供财务管理教育，使电影融资交易方面的信息更容易获取。

Financial management education for young producers and improved access to information on film finance deals are key policy recommendations from the WIPO research.

电影融资的方式多种多样，包括债务融资、股权投资、拨款、众筹以及与电影公司和/或制作公司合作。（图：bluebackimage /iStock / Getty Images Plus）

There are various ways to finance films, including through debt financing, equity investment, grants, crowdfunding and partnerships with studios and/or production companies. (Photo: bluebackimage /iStock / Getty Images Plus)

美国电影融资的主要参与者

Key players in US film finance

制片方、发行方和投资方是美国电影融资的主要参与者。制片方寻找剧本，聚集并管理资源，以确保电影按照剧本按时完成，发行方则获得在电影院和其他地方放映电影的权利。

Producers, distributors and financiers are the primary players in US film finance. Producers seek out a script, assemble and manage resources to ensure the film is completed on time and according to the script, while distributors acquire the rights to exhibit a film in cinemas and elsewhere.

传统上，美国的电影制作和发行一直由被称为电影公司的垂直整合公司主导。大电影巨头公司包括迪斯尼/福克斯、派拉蒙、索尼、环球和华纳兄弟，而米高梅、狮门和梦工厂有时被称为“小巨头”。如今，Netflix、苹果、亚马逊和Hulu等独立流媒体，以及迪士尼+、派拉蒙+和Peacock等电影公司旗下的流媒体在电影制作中发挥着越来越重要的作用。

Film production and distribution in the US have been dominated traditionally by vertically integrated companies called studios. Major studios include Disney/Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros, while MGM, Lions Gate and DreamWorks are sometimes referred to as “mini-majors”. These days, independent streaming services such as Netflix, Apple, Amazon and Hulu and studio-owned streaming services such as Disney+, Paramount+ or Peacock play an increasingly important role in film production.

最后，金融机构为电影制片方提供融资，通常是贷款。电影的外部融资大多来自商业银行，这些银行拥有专门的电影融资部门，通常位于美国洛杉矶或英国伦敦。

Finally, financial institutions provide financing, typically loans, to film producers. Most external financing in film comes from commercial banks with specialized film finance branches, often located in Los Angeles (USA) or London (UK).

最常见的融资交易类型

The most common types of financial deals

大制作电影的大部分融资都是债务融资。独立制片方和较小的制作公司通常寻求一次只投资一部电影。这就是所谓的项目融资。这种融资可能直接来自于电影公司合伙人，也可能来自于商业银行，并由发行方或电影公司合伙人担保。

Much of the financing for big-budget films is debt-based. Independent producers and smaller production companies typically seek to finance one film at a time. This is known as project finance. Such financing may come directly from a studio partner or from a commercial bank with a guarantee from a distributor or studio partner.

制片方可能获得的债务协议类型取决于电影的制作阶段，以及制片方能够从可信第三方向投资方提供的担保。然而，流媒体平台、电影公司和大型制作公司往往依靠企业融资和更高的信贷额度来一次为一系列电影融资。这通常涉及使用复杂的、结构化的金融工具，使他们能够利用债务和股权的组合，从而最大限度地缩小自身的风险敞口。

The type of debt deals a producer may obtain depends on the film’s stage of production as well as the guarantees a producer can provide a financier from trusted third parties. However, streaming platforms, studios and larger production companies often rely on corporate financing and larger lines of credit to finance a slate of films at a time. This often involves the use of complex, structured financial instruments that allow them to draw on a combination of debt and equity, thereby minimizing their own risk exposure.

知识产权和其他无形资产在电影交易中的作用

The role of IP and other intangible assets in film deals

产权组织的研究表明，在有形资产特别稀缺的美国电影业，包括知识产权在内的无形资产已被广泛用作抵押品。事实上，根据美国信贷透明度登记处的最新数据，自2008年以来，该行业约35%的贷款涉及以某种形式的无形资产作为抵押品。

WIPO’s research shows that in the US film industry - where tangible assets are particularly scarce – intangibles, including IP, have been widely used as collateral. Indeed, since 2008, around 35 percent of loans in the industry include some form of intangible as collateral, based on the latest data from U.S. credit transparency registers.

美国版权局的最新数据进一步显示，在过去40年里，每部登记的电影片名都有4到6次担保权益记录，而每年此类记录的总数在5000到20000之间。这显示出电影版权支持的电影融资交易的数量。

New data from the US Copyright Office further shows that in the last 40 years, each registered film title saw between four to six recordations of security interest, and that the total number of such recordations per year ranged from between 5,000 and 20,000. This gives an indication of the number of film finance deals backed by the copyright of the film.

大型和小型电影制作方都使用知识产权和无形资产支持的融资吗？

Is IP and intangible asset-backed finance used by both large and small filmmakers?

有证据表明，独立电影制片方和其他中小企业比大型制片方更广泛地使用无形资产支持的贷款，并且无形资产在中小企业使用的抵押品中所占比例更大。对于寻求融资渠道的小型电影制作方而言，无形资产支持的融资尤其重要，因为与大型电影公司或制作公司相比，他们往往没有多少有形资产可以作为抵押品。

There is evidence that independent film producers and other SMEs use loans backed by intangibles more extensively than larger producers, and that intangibles account for a greater share of the collateral used by SMEs. Intangibles-backed finance is particularly important for smaller filmmakers seeking access to finance because they tend to have fewer tangible assets to offer as collateral compared to larger studios or production companies.

电影行业的参与者已经发展出许多管理风险的策略。联合制作和银团贷款是电影融资中两种重要的风险分担策略。（图：nicoletaionescu / iStock / Getty Images Plus）

Film industry players have evolved a number of strategies to manage risk. Co-production and loan syndication are two important risk-sharing strategies used in film finance. (Photo: nicoletaionescu / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

在线阅读全文，进一步了解知识产权资产和电影融资。

Read the full article online and learn more about the IP assets and film finance.

欢迎扫描下列二维码进行WIPO杂志订阅！

Scan the QR code below to subscribe to WIPO Magazine!

订阅步骤：

Simply follow these steps:

1. 在第一步中选择"WIPO杂志“；

Select "WIPO Magazine" in the step 1；

2. 在第二步中填写必填项信息；

Fill in the required information in the step 2;

3. 根据个人邮箱收到的验证邮件进行确认；

Confirm your subscription by clicking the verification link in the email sent to your inbox.

订阅成功，阅读愉快！

That's it! You're now subscribed to WIPO Magazine. Enjoy your reading!