Entertainment Law
Entertainment law regulates all aspects of the entertainment industry, specifically relationships and transactions between individuals and organizations involved in film, theatre, television, radio, opera, music, dance, writing, and fine art. It includes regulation of the media, both in print and in telecommunications, as well as on the internet and in various evolving forms of computer technology. In sum, entertainment law attempts to insure fairness in all aspects of selling or transferring creative works for profit.
The attorneys practicing in the Sports and Entertainment Group of Archer & Greiner are extremely experienced in every aspect of Entertainment Law.
The Entertainment Law Practice
Entertainment lawyers represent not only artists, but talent agents, production companies, unions, and related organizations. Entertainment law regularly deals not only with the negotiation of contracts and the resolution of contract disputes, but privacy and publicity rights, defamation matters, union concerns, estate planning, taxation strategies, and intellectual property issues (copyright, trademark). Occasionally, constitutional law issues arise, usually in the form of right to privacy issues as well as freedom of speech. Entertainment law will, at times, have an international law component as clients will work or promote their efforts in a variety of nations - today’s entertainment industry is a global one.
Entertainment lawyers in the course of their practice negotiate music contracts as well as those for film and theatre; they act on behalf of actors, musicians, writers, directors, production companies and producers, in negotiations, disputes, settlements, and litigation. Entertainment attorneys are involved in the legalities of distribution, licensing, and merchandising, and they deal with evolving legal issues governing print, internet, and software media as well as those involving copyright and trademark infringement.
Entertainment law is often a part of national media coverage, covering what may first appear to be many different types of stories. For example, recent national entertainment law coverage has involved:
- the representation by firm partner of 2008 Miss New Jersey Amy Polumbo regarding a failed blackmail attempt involving controversial photos of Miss Polumbo and her boyfriend (Miss Polumbo prevailed).
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the fraud and invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by representatives of Heath Ledger’s estate against a Los Angeles photo agency for allegedly supplying Ledger with cocaine and then filming him using the drug; and
- the unfair marketplace competition litigation between Mattel (makers of Barbie) and MGA (creators of Bratz)(set for trial in May 2008);
Entertainment Lawyers and Entertainment Law Clients
Entertainment lawyers may represent a variety of clients; however, entertainment law requires the lawyer to maintain strict boundaries in every representation. Entertainment law, in fact, places a fiduciary duty upon every entertainment lawyer, which requires the attorney to maintain absolute loyalty to his individual client. Even an innocent conflict of interest can have severe repercussions, because the fiduciary duty is absolute. For example, singer Billy Joel entered into a substantial settlement after filing suit against his former legal counsel because the firm had made deals with his agent/manager at the same time that they were negotiating for Joel.
While maintaining client boundaries is simple enough in other areas of fiduciary responsibility, for the entertainment lawyer this mandate can be quite complicated. Entertainment representations require an entertainment attorney to act not only as a lawyer, but also occasionally as an agent, a manager, a publicist, and sometimes even as assistant or sales representative for the client.
Entertainment attorneys are understood to shop talent and package deals on a daily basis. They are also known to make deals with clients where the lawyer owns a share of the client’s career itself, or a certain portion of the client’s work, as part of a structuring a legal fee that is advantageous to the client. These realities can result in entertainment lawyers being labeled as self-serving, and facing not only litigation by the client for breach of fiduciary duty, but disciplinary action by the legal authorities for violation of professional ethical standards.
The attorneys practicing in the Sports and Entertainment Group of Archer & Greiner are extremely experienced in every aspect of Entertainment Law.
For more information about Entertainment Law:
American Bar Association’s Forum on Entertainment and Sports Industries http://www.abanet.org/forums/entsports/
Billboard
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/index.jsp
Variety
http://www.variety.com/
Nikki Finke’s Deadline Hollywood Daily
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/
“Miss New
Entertainment Law Attorney(s)