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Monthly Archives: May 2009

Speaking at LA County Bar Association

I'm pleased to have been asked to join  an impressive panel of lawyers, including internet defamation attorney Adrianos Fachetti; class action attorney H. Scott Leviant; Barger & Wolen Marketing Director Heather Milligan, and mediator attorney Victoria Pynchon, to discuss how lawyers can use and benefit from social media.

The Details:

Los Angeles County Bar Association's Second Annual Small Firm and Solo Practitioner Conference, June 24-25.

Social Networking For Lawyers: A Roadmap to Success
Thursday, June 25. 9:15 – 10:30 a.m.

In this interactive session we will explore the buzz surrounding social networking and social media tools and how solo and small firms practitioners can effectively employ them to communicate with current clients; control your messaging as you reach out to new clients and the media; and to meet, network and collaborate with colleagues.

Our panel of solo and small firm attorneys will discuss their experiences with blogging as a social media tool, and we will spotlight several social networking applications, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. By calling upon their personal experiences, our panel will highlight best practices for how you can incorporate these and other Web 2.0 applications into your business development, PR and networking activities.

You don't want to miss this event!

Theatrical Lighting Designers may soon be required to be licensed in Texas

Update:  According to those in the know (and some of our comment authors), the licensure requirement is unlikely to survive the reconciliation process with the House bill.  Apparently, this licensing requirement was added by state Senators late in the process, and is not part of the original bill authored by Rep. Smith..

Stage Directions magazine reports that  The Texas Senate has passed legislation that will prohibit anyone from practicing lighting design except for registered architects, landscape architects, engineers, interior designers, and commercial electricians.  The Bill, H.B. 2649 stands to put all theatrical and entertainment lighting designers in a bind, unless an exception or exemption is added before the bill becomes law.

As passed by the state's Senate, three different sections of the legislation prohibit “a person from performing or offering to perform lighting design service unless the person is licensed as an engineer; registered as an architect, landscape architect, or interior designer; or licensed  as an Electrician.

Texas-based theatrical  and entertainment lighting designers are advised to consult with their lawyers and unions  and  lobby hard  against this proposed law before it is voted on by the Texas House of Representatives, and ultimately signed into law.

ASK THE READERS:

What do you think?  Should lighting designers in theatre, film and other entertainment media be regulated and licensed by the states in which they work?

What about scenic, costume, sound and other designers?

What governmental interest is served by such regulation?

Filed Under: Law

Will Judge Sotomayor be good for the entertainment industry?

President Obama today named Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the Supreme Court seat to be vacated by Justice David Souter upon his retirement at the end of the current term.

Ben Sheffner of the Copyrights and Campaigns blog points out that before her appointment to the Federal Bench by then President George H.W. Bush, Sotomayor worked as a litigator for boutique New York law firm Pavia & Harcourt, where she focused on intellectual property and international matters for the firm's corporate clients, including rights owners.

Does this indicate that big-media can expect a friend in Justice Sotomayor, if she's confirmed? Time will tell.

Meanwhile, we can all ruminate over this list of her opinions as a Judge, compiled by the New York Times

Copyright Registration System under fire – part 2

In part I of this series, I discussed the current backlog on registrations at the copyright office.   Here, I discuss a more fundamental issue which questions the very validity of every copyright registration. Questions about the validity of U.S. Copyright Registrations may require dismissal of every copyright suit!? In most U.S. District Courts, copyright registration… Continue Reading

Copyright Registration System under fire – Part 1

Entertainment Lawyers are always quick to advise their clients to register copyrights in their work.  Today, however, a couple of issues have arisen that make me wonder if  the current US Copyright registration system isn’t in trouble. Major Backlog at the Copyright Office raises questions about the whole system. First, the Washington Post reports that… Continue Reading

How not to use the internet to find investors for your film or theatre project.

In recent weeks, I’ve begun to see more and more independent filmmakers and theatre producers using forums, chat rooms, and other internet-services to seek out investors for their projects. In most cases, these inquiries are couched in plain language: “Seeking investors for independent film” or similar. Unfortunately for these producers, their use of the internet… Continue Reading

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