 The creative process behind creating entertainment content raises questions concerning ownership and artistic control as well as fiduciary benefit. We as attorneys have the job of determining who wrote or created what and how much, what credit should be attributed to whom and at what cost. We can assist you with the prevention or the pursuit of your entertainment claim.
Our expertise in Entertainment and Copyrights spans issues involving trademark, copyright, format rights, idea submission, defamation, invasion of privacy, right of publicity, profit participation, royalty payments, vertical integration claims, and the interpretation of recording, film, distribution, and talent contracts. Even while certain concepts have set formulas, such as compulsory license royalties, etc., it is not so easy to conclude who may be entitled to those royalties. An attorney's role should be to come into the picture with certain knowledge of "industry standards" while being open and flexible enough to accommodate those creative minds in an environment of ever-changing media and "go with the flow," so to speak.
Some of the contractual issues an entertainment attorney may have to deal with emanate from concepts relating to artistic control, which may wind through a chain of title commencing with an idea, the expression of the idea (sound familiar?) as in a novel, the purchase of the rights to that novel by a producer, the hiring of a screenwriter who may take an equity interest in the property and/or create his/her own expression of that idea, the hiring of a director who again may contribute something original to the property, and the actors who often, depending on his/her particular stature, may take the reins and contribute significantly on a creative level as well. All of the above will likely result in a written agreement addressing artistic control on some level. |
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