Whether a client is involved in film or television development, financing, production, distribution, litigation, contract negotiations, visa applications, or any other legal matter, expert guidance is needed to get to the desired destination and avoid costly mistakes. Clients of our firm can depend on highly trained attorneys and other legal professionals with many decades of collective experience in handling some of the most specialized fields of the law. To learn more about our areas of special expertise, as well as some of our more high-profile cases and matters, click on any of the links to the left, or scroll down to the desired section further down the page.
Film and Television
With offices in Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, London, Mysore, and Derry/Londonderry, we are one of the leading US and UK providers of legal services in the television and motion picture industries. Clients from both sides of the Atlantic and the Pacific, such as Paramount Pictures, HBO, Channel Four, 20th Century Fox, ITV, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Media Rights Capital, and BBC Worldwide, have retained us. Over 100 production companies also have done so. The services we provide are too numerous to list completely, but here's an attempt:
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- all types of production counsel services
- all types of business affairs services
- research/advice on US/UK content/compliance issues
- packaging and sales
- filming guidelines and advice
- litigation and/or litigation support
- out-of-court resolution of claims
- AccuMark title searches/reports
- title opinions
- fair use and other copyright opinions
- other legal opinions/clearances
- trademark and copyright registrations
- production agreements
- commissioning agreements
- talent agreements
- writers' agreements
- director's agreements
- actors' agreements
- music producer's agreements
- cinematographer's agreements
- casting agreements
- location agreements
- appearance consent agreements
- deal memos in advance of agreements
- insurance agreements
- soundtrack agreements
- all types of licensing agreements
- music/composition agreements
- stills/clips agreements
- online channel streaming agreements
- same for other 3rd party platforms
- sales/acquisition agreements
- chain of title searches/reports
- distribution agreements
- agreements for live shows/performances
- first look agreements
- option agreements
- U.S. work permits/visas
- crew deal memos/agreements
- presenter's agreements
- shareholder agreements
- completion bond agreements
- E&O and other insurance applications
- lab access letters
- bank mandates
Copyright Law
Our attorneys frequently handle copyright issues, not only for media clients, but also for companies and individuals in multiple industries, all over the world. We help our clients avoid claims, and protect their rights. In addition, our outstanding team of US-law-trained attorneys in India handle copyright registrations at low cost, and at great speed, with no compromise in quality. If and when litigation is unavoidable, our Western lawyers, supported by our expert litigation support team in India, provide a top-tier defense or prosecution at affordable cost. For example, we recently turned the tables on a copyright claimant who made the mistake of suing our clients Sacha Baron Cohen and the largest independent film studio in Hollywood. We not only won the case, at a record low cost, below the insurance deductible, but we also were able to use a threatened motion for attorneys' fees to persuade the plaintiff and his law firm to drop their appeal. Historically, we have handled some of the most significant copyright cases in the United States, including:
- Thomson v. Larson (the "Rent case")
- Carell v. The Shubert Organization et al (the "Cats case")
- Wildmon v. Channel Four Television Corporation
- Ridenhour v. Malt Liquor Companies (the "Chuck D case")
- Cheever v. Academy Chicago Publishers
Libel Defense
We are expert in obtaining dismissals of libel claims against television networks, production companies, publishers, journalists, and other media defendants. For example, one or more of our attorneys have obtained the dismissal of libel claims against Channel Four Television Corporation, Sacha Baron Cohen, HBO, Viking Press, Warner Books, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Books, New American Library and other media defendants. To help avoid libel and related claims, we provide pre-publication content review and other legal advice to facilitate television programming and motion picture production for several major studios, networks and others. We are an active member of the Media Law Resource Center, and we are approved counsel for Hiscox Insurance, Axis Pro (formerly Media Professional Insurance), The Chubb Group, Navigators, and other media insurance carriers. Some of the more well-known known libel and related cases our attorneys have worked on include:
- Doe v. HBO (the "Ali G" case)
- Prentice v. McPhilemy (the "Committee case")
- Welch v. Penguin Books USA, Inc.
- Randall v. Warner Books, Inc.
- In re King World Productions, Inc.
Trademark Law
We are expert in prosecuting false advertising claims, as well as in defending and/or registering trademarks and rights of attribution, under the Lanham Federal Trademark Act. With the expert help of our highly-trained India team, we are able to perform trademark and title searches, and provide trademark and title opinions, in record time, and at low cost, with no sacrifice in quality. When it comes to trademark disputes, whether in the USPTO or in court, we have had considerable success in defending our clients, and/or prosecuting infringers. Some of the more prominent trademark cases our attorneys have worked on include:
- Carell v. The Shubert Organization et al (the "Cats case")
- R/Greenberg Associates, Inc. v. Portfolio Networks, Inc.
- Ridenhour v. Malt Liquor Companies (the "Chuck D case")
Entertainment Law
Our Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC, and London professionals have been called upon to represent or counsel some of the biggest names in the arts and entertainment worlds, including, just to name a few, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, MGM, Media Rights Capital, HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sacha Baron Cohen, The Royal Opera, ITV, Erykah Badu, Channel Four Television (UK), Philip Glass, Graham Norton, BBC Worldwide, Chuck D, American Broadcasting Companies, Miramax Films, The Matthew Marks Gallery, Terry McMillan, MTV Networks, and George C. Wolfe. We handle everything from contract drafting and negotiations, to visa applications, to content review, to litigation.
Internet Law
As the power and influence of the Internet continue to explode, intellectual property and other issues have multiplied exponentially. From disputes over domain names, to battles over software ownership at dot.com companies, to litigation involving defamation and website design and hosting, our firm has been called upon to handle a variety of Internet matters, from which our expertise in this area has grown dramatically.
Media Law
We have decades of collective experience and training in representing prominent television companies, motion picture studios, book publishers, magazines, journalists, and theatre companies. We have become particularly experienced in providing content review and other legal advice to facilitate television programming for major networks, movie studios and others. And when it comes to media defense litigation, our skill and success rate are legendary.