Overview
As the entertainment and media industries continue to undergo fundamental changes, legal disputes have taken on new complexity. The traditional sources of industry litigation—intellectual property and contractual disputes—have been rapidly transformed by a proliferation of new players, financing sources and disruptive technologies.
With the funding of entertainment ventures coming increasingly from outside the industry, both the financial instruments and the private equity, venture capital, and angel investors that control them have added layers of contractual and technological complexity to every sort of deal. Disputes over the disposition of the proceeds or tax credits may take place across multiple geographies, legal systems and business cultures. And lines between sectors—advertising, entertainment, gaming and social media—have become blurred, giving rise to new types of high-stakes IP disputes.
Roots in the Industry
Entertainment and media are firmly rooted in our culture. For over three decades we have been closely linked with the industry, and our deep understanding of the issues confronting your industry is informed by a rich historical perspective.
We know the entertainment community and its players. We have long partnered with them and thoroughly understand their businesses. They trust us to anticipate litigation and take steps to avoid it.
When litigation is threatened, our attorneys are adept at resolving matters efficiently. Our proven abilities at trial give you great leverage in negotiation, which is why most of our cases are either won on the pleadings or settled out of court. Between our courtroom successes and our proven ability to resolve disputes without litigation, you can count on us for outcomes that are at all times consistent with your overriding business imperatives.
Services Across the Board
Our practice is part of a full-service capability with formidable resources in the major industry centers of Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. We bring a multidisciplinary approach to every area of entertainment and media—television, radio, motion pictures, music, art and advertising—as well as to the rapidly proliferating digital aspects of each.
What we do
We routinely handle disputes of every kind, including:
- Copyright infringement
- Breach of contract
- Digital media litigation
- Right of publicity matters
- Idea theft
- Royalty accounting
- Profit participation
- Trademark claims
- False advertising (Lanham Act)
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act claims
Awards
Related Practices
Select Clients
BMG Rights Management GmbH
CBS Entertainment
EMI Music
Ticketmaster
Warner Music
Sony Music Entertainment
