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Monthly Archives: July 2012

How entertainment law influenced the modern lore of the vampire…

20120723-002253.jpgAn interesting post at Plagiarism Today explains how much of modern Dracula/vampire lore is the result of a misguided effort by the producers of “Nosferatu” to avoid a copyright infringement lawsuit from the Bram Stoker estate.

http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/17/dracula-vs-nosferatu-a-true-copyright-horror-story/

Hat tip to Delicious.com user nooitmeere for tagging this story

What does an entertainment lawyer do? (Part I)

Entertainment Lawyers, at the root of things, provide legal advice, counsel and representation to businesses and individuals in the entertainment industries, including the fields of theatre, television, film, music, publishing, and digital media. Within the field of enteratinment law, lawyers typically focus on one of two “sides”: Transactional or litigation. Many entertainment lawyers subspecialize, focusing their energies on the music business, or just film. Others are generalists, bringing a wide range of expertise to deals that increasingly span the various sub-industries.

Breadth of Knowledge Required

An entertainment lawyer must be well-versed in a variety of legal fields. With so many possible problems and opportunities that the entertainment world presents, it’s important for a lawyer to fully understand the breadth and scope of the deals he or she is working on. For example, lawyers representing an actor or musician usually need to know the ins and outs of contracts, but they also need to know intellectual property law, labor and employment basics, as well as rights of privacy, publicity, not to mention the occasional foray into corporate law. Entertainment lawyers are called on daily to analyze and solve problems of all kinds that arise in connection with their clients’ businesses. Continue Reading

Two clients with shows at NYMF receive recognition

Readers who are interested in the business of producing theatre know how highly I recommend The Producers Perspective, a blog written by Broadway Producer Ken Davenport. Imagine how pleased I was today, when I opened my browser to his article on five of his top picks at the New York Musical theatre Festival (NYMF), and saw that not one, but two shows I’ve been involved with made his list!

reAnimator: The Musical is based on the 1980s cult film ReAnimator, produced by my client, Brian Yuzna. Earlier this year, I was pleased to assist Brian in negotiations with the musical’s adapters/authors to make this and other productions possible.

Central Avenue Breakdown’s book and music are by my client (and high school bandmate) Kevin Ray. A few months ago, I helped Kevin work out his deal with his collaborators, and lay the groundwork for this and future productions.

Congratulations Kevin and Brian!

If you’re going to be in New York during the Festival, you owe it to yourself to see either or both of these shows, and any of the others in the festival. It’s the cutting edge of musical theatre writing in the U.S., and some of the offerings are bound to go on to be big hits.

Entertainment Law Update Podcast 032 – Lawyers, Libel, Logos and Lolipops

Call us with your feedback:  (310) 243-6231 In this Episode: Court to revisit Veoh ruling Football Uniforms trademark not infringed by artist’s work Funny Junk/The Oatmeal, and their lawyer’s exploits. Lawyers sued for participating in litigation? What? What? In the Butt? Maker’s Mark…. is! and more… Entertainment Law Update is brought to you by Clio,… Continue Reading

Reflections on L.A.’s nascent producer’s league. Treason… No, but…

Frequent readers probably know that I have lately been involved with a group of L.A. Theatre producers who’re forming a league to serve as a collective bargaining representative, advocate, and promotional collective. The process has been grueling, involving 6 meetings so far (2 more are scheduled), at which various interests have to be reconciled, and… Continue Reading

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