It is said that fame should be achieved at a young age, and stars such as "TFBOYS, Zhang Zifeng, Zhang Yishan, Yang Zi, and Guan Xiaotong" who have emerged since childhood have attracted many minors to join the film and television entertainment industry. Moreover, in order to seek better development in the entertainment industry, more and more minors are also starting to sign up for brokerage companies. The author previously discussed the concept, nature, how to terminate a performance brokerage contract, and how to bear the responsibility for breach of contract in the article "Bait? Brokerage Contracts Can't Be Signed If You Want". This article analyzes the subject and effectiveness of signing a performance brokerage contract for minors, which is a special case.

According to the provisions of the Civil Code of China, natural persons over the age of 18 are adults, and adults are persons with full civil capacity, who can independently implement civil legal acts; "Natural persons under the age of 18 are minors, and minors may not independently carry out civil legal acts.". Who should sign the minor's acting agency contract to be legally valid?

1、 Minors under the age of eight should have all their legal representatives sign brokerage contracts

The Civil Code clearly stipulates that minors under the age of eight are persons without civil capacity, and their legal representatives shall act on their behalf to carry out civil legal acts. The guardian of a person without civil capacity is his legal representative.

Generally speaking, parents are guardians of minor children. "If the parents of a minor have died or are unable to provide guardianship, the following persons with the ability to provide guardianship shall serve as guardians in the following order: (1) Grandparents, maternal grandparents;"; （2） Brother and sister; （3） Other individuals or organizations willing to act as guardians must obtain the consent of the residents' committee, villagers' committee, or civil affairs department in the place where the minor resides.

Therefore, as long as the parties to the contract express their true intentions, do not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and do not violate public order and good customs, the brokerage contract signed by the legal representative of a minor (i.e., guardian, generally referring to parents, hereinafter referred to as "legal representative") and the brokerage company is valid. However, brokerage companies need to pay attention to the following special circumstances when signing minor performance brokerage contracts.

How to determine the effectiveness of a brokerage contract signed by one legal representative if a minor has multiple legal representatives and the legal representative's intention conflicts

(1) "If one of the legal representatives of a minor explicitly indicates to the brokerage company that they do not agree to sign a brokerage contract, and the brokerage company also privately signs a brokerage contract with the other party, the brokerage contract may be deemed invalid.".

On the one hand, a brokerage company that knowingly signs a contract privately despite a conflict of intent expressed by the legal representative may be identified as "malicious collusion", and the brokerage contract damages "the legitimate rights and interests of minors" or "the legal agency rights of the other party who does not agree to sign the contract.". According to Article 154 of the Civil Code, "A civil legal act in which the perpetrator maliciously colludes with the other party to harm the legitimate rights and interests of others is invalid." The brokerage contract may be deemed invalid.
On the other hand, minors should live together with their legal representatives. If the legal representatives express a conflict of intent and one party does not agree to sign the brokerage contract, the brokerage company still privately signs the brokerage contract, which is bound to cause conflicts between the legal representatives of minors, thereby affecting the lives and physical and mental health of minors. The private signing of the brokerage contract is also suspected of violating public order and good customs, and may be considered invalid.

(2) If one of the legal representatives of a minor has already signed a brokerage contract with the brokerage company, and the brokerage company is not aware that the other legal representative of the minor disagrees with the signing of the contract, then the other legal representative of the minor confirms that the brokerage contract is invalid on the grounds of his disagreement, which generally cannot be supported by the court.

The author searched a dispute case between Chu and Beijing Zhuma Culture Brokerage Co., Ltd. (Case No.: (2020) Jing 0102 Min Chu No. 24845), in which the court held that the party Chu (the plaintiff) was a minor, and the contract he signed with Zhuma (the defendant) involved significant personal rights and obligations, and was valid only with the consent of the legal representative. As the father and guardian of Chu Mou, Chu Mou 1 is the legal representative of Chu Mou. The act of Chu Mou 1 signing the contract should be deemed as the consent of Chu Mou's legal representative to implement the civil legal act. The court also pointed out that, based on the existing evidence provided by the plaintiff, it was not possible to confirm that Chu Mou 1 had malicious collusion with Zhuma Company, or that Zhuma Company had entered into a contract with Chu Mou with knowledge that Wang Mou, the mother of Chu Mou, disagreed. The final court ruled that "Chu's claim to confirm the invalidity of the contract signed with Zhuma Company lacks factual and legal basis, and this court will not support it."

To avoid risks, this article recommends that brokerage companies require all legal representatives of minors to sign brokerage contracts with minors under the age of eight. If one party's legal representative is unable to sign the contract on site, he/she shall be required to provide a power of attorney to sign the contract on his/her behalf.

2. Special provisions for online performance brokerage contracts

Article 76 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors stipulates: "Online live streaming service providers shall not provide online live streaming publisher account registration services for minors under the age of 16."

Article 7 of the "Measures for the Administration of Online Performance Brokerage Agencies" issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on August 30, 2021 also stipulates that "Online performance brokerage agencies shall not provide online performance brokerage services to minors under the age of 16."

Therefore, there are special requirements for online performance brokerage. If a brokerage company signs a brokerage contract for online performance with the legal representative of a minor under the age of 16, the brokerage contract may be deemed invalid; If a comprehensive brokerage contract is signed, the content of the online performance brokerage agreement is invalid.

2、 For minors aged over 8 but under 16, a brokerage contract should be signed by the minor and all legal representatives

The Civil Code clearly stipulates that minors over the age of eight are persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, and the implementation of civil legal acts shall be represented by their legal representatives or approved and ratified by their legal representatives; However, they may independently conduct civil legal acts that are purely beneficial or that are appropriate to their age and intelligence. Therefore, there are several main situations in which minors over the age of eight but under the age of sixteen sign brokerage contracts.
"The brokerage contract is invalid only if it is signed by the minor in person and not approved or ratified by his or her legal representative."

According to the above provisions, minors aged between eight and sixteen can sign contracts that are purely profitable or appropriate to their age and intelligence. "However, a brokerage contract is not a purely beneficial contract, and its rights and obligations are relatively complex, obviously incompatible with its age and intelligence, requiring the consent and ratification of a guardian. Otherwise, the brokerage contract should be invalid.".

The author searched the contract dispute case between Beijing Dianyin Gentlemen Culture Communication Co., Ltd. and Mr. Jiang and Mr. Zhang (Case No.: (2020) Yue 0114 Min Chu No. 12888), which also held the above views. The court held that Jiang (the defendant) had not reached the age of 16 when signing the Artist Contract, and was a person with limited civil capacity. The penalty agreed in the Artist Contract was as high as 2000000 yuan. Obviously, Jiang's signing of the Artist Contract did not match his age and intelligence. Jiang's signing of the Artist Contract required the consent and ratification of his legal representative. The legal representative of Jiang Mou, Zhang Mou (the mother of Jiang Mou), has issued a "Notification Letter" to Beijing Dianyin Company (the plaintiff) on July 1, 2020, specifying that Jiang Mou's signing of the contract involving the case with Beijing Dianyin Company will not be agreed or recognized. Therefore, the court finally determined that the "Artist Contract" involved in the case was invalid and was invalid from the beginning.

"Only the legal representative of a minor signs, but not the minor himself. There are different views on the effectiveness of a brokerage contract."

If a minor over the age of eight but under the age of sixteen has only a legal representative's signature and no minor's signature, is the brokerage contract valid? There are different viewpoints in judicial practice.

(1) Viewpoint 1: Only the legal representative of a minor signs, and no minor signs, the brokerage contract is valid

The author searched the second instance case of contract dispute between He Mou and Shanghai Yuanji Painting Culture Media Co., Ltd. (Case No.: (2019) Hu 01 Min Zhong No. 14954), in which the court held that one of the parties to the contract, He Mou 1 (the plaintiff and appellant in the first instance), was a minor under the age of 18 and was a person with limited civil capacity. His parents, He Mou 2 and Peng Mou, as legal representatives, signed the Artist Contract with Yuanji Painting Company on his behalf, The intention expressed by both parties is true and clear, and the contract content does not violate the mandatory provisions of laws and administrative regulations. Therefore, the "Artist Contract" should be valid and legally binding on both parties.

(2) Viewpoint 2: If only the legal representative of a minor signs, and there is no signature by the minor himself, the brokerage contract is invalid

The author searched for a dispute case concerning the invalidity of a contract between Mr. Liu and Beijing Century Bowan Cultural Media Co., Ltd. (Case No.: (2019) Jing 0105 Min Chu 23119), in which the court held that the "Artist Contract" established obligations and liabilities for breach of contract for Mr. Liu and Mr. Cheng (two plaintiffs and twins), and that Mr. Cheng (the father of the plaintiff) and Mr. Liu (the mother of the plaintiff), as guardians, had no right to represent Mr. Liu Cheng Moumou signed an "Artist Contract" with Century Bowan Company. The agency actions of Mr. Cheng and Mr. Liu exceed the scope of their legal agency power, and should be recognized as unauthorized agency. According to the relevant provisions of the "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China" at that time, the actor has no agency power and has no effect on the principal without ratification by the principal, and the actor shall bear the responsibility. Finally, the court made a judgment that the "Artist Contract" had no effect on Liu and Cheng.

What needs to be mentioned is that the author believes that there is a controversy in the judgment regarding the "legal agent signing the Artist Contract to set obligations for Liu and Cheng and the liability for breach of contract as unauthorized agency", which to some extent negates the "legal agent system" and does not comply with the current legal provisions of China.
However, in order to avoid disputes, this article suggests that when a brokerage company signs a brokerage contract with a minor aged between 8 and 16, the minor and all legal representatives should jointly sign the brokerage contract.

3、 Minors over the age of 16 have different subjects signing brokerage contracts depending on their source of livelihood

The Civil Code clearly stipulates that adults are persons with full civil capacity and can independently perform civil legal acts. "Minors over the age of 16 who rely on their own labor income as their main source of livelihood are considered to have full civil capacity." Therefore, according to the above regulations, there are two situations in which minors aged 16 to 18 sign brokerage contracts.
"Minors over the age of 16 who rely on their own labor income as their main source of livelihood are considered to be fully capable of civil conduct, and may sign brokerage contracts by themselves."
The author searched a service contract dispute case between Zhao Moumou and Lishi Film (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (Case No.: (2019) Jing 0105 Min Chu No. 55057), in which the court held that minors over the age of 16 who rely on their own labor income as their main source of livelihood are considered to have full civil capacity. In this case, the plaintiff has been living alone in Beijing since April 2016. At the time of signing the contract in question, the plaintiff had lived independently in Beijing for more than two years, and the plaintiff also admitted that he had some income. Now, the plaintiff claims that he was a person with limited civil capacity when signing the contract, and he should fully prove that his living expenses originated from his family. According to Zhang's WeChat transfer record submitted by the plaintiff, as well as the plaintiff's self stated expenses for renting a house, combined with the daily living consumption level in Beijing, the evidence submitted by the plaintiff is difficult to prove that his main source of livelihood depends on his mother. Therefore, the court did not support the plaintiff's opinion that he was a person with limited civil capacity when signing the contract, and ultimately rejected Zhao's claim to confirm the invalidity of the contract involved.

"Minors over the age of 16 who rely on their legal representatives for their livelihood and are still persons with limited civil capacity should sign a brokerage contract with all their legal representatives."
The analysis here is the same as the analysis of brokerage contracts signed by minors aged 8 years and under 16 years in the second part of this article, and will not be repeated.

In addition, it should be noted that brokerage companies also need to pay special attention to one point. If the duration of the brokerage contract signed with a minor artist extends beyond his or her minor age to adulthood, the brokerage company should sign a new brokerage contract after the artist reaches adulthood (the day after his or her 18th birthday). "Because after the artist reaches adulthood, he or she has obtained full civil capacity, the agency power of his or her legal representative is automatically terminated, and the brokerage contract previously signed by his or her legal representative will not take effect since the artist reaches adulthood.". Interested readers can search for other contract disputes between Qianrui (Shanghai) Business Consulting Co., Ltd. and Xu and Xu (2018) Hu 0106 Min Chu No. 26184).

To sum up, brokerage companies sign performance brokerage contracts with minor artists, and the effectiveness of the contracts needs to be determined based on the different situations of minors and legal agents. Brokerage companies can follow the analysis in this article to "follow the map".