For this month’s blog I wish to share about the importance of intellectual property as it pertains to the entertainment industry. I had wished to interview a prominent lawyer in the field but sadly he was too busy preparing for Cannes and finalizing issues with his current clients before his four-week trip to the French Riviera. By the time I obtained this information, it was too late for me personally, (with one week till the due date) that I would wish to ask someone to take time out for me.
So instead of an engaging interview, I am reviewing a couple of podcasts. The first is from Gordon P. Firemark, Esq. his 12th episode of his Entertainment Law Update Podcasts from iTunesU. His personal website can be found at http://firemark.com/.
One piece of news he talked about was that the copyright office issued a letter that supports the idea of a performance royalty for terrestrial radio stations to pay. An act is pending in congress which would require that there would be a performance right in broadcast radio. Terrestrial radio argues that if it is burdened with another fee that it will be put out of business, as they do not earn money by subscribers such as satellite radio. The fee could not be passed on to the listeners, as that would cause uproar with every listener fighting for their free terrestrial radio. A guest Firemark has on the show states that the fee is so nominal that it makes terrestrial radio companies argument invalid and that musicians are running out of ways to make money on their craft and this could be a new legal stream opening up.
He also talked about an interesting dispute between Michael Douglas and his ex wife Diandra who has filed a suit claiming an interest in his earning from Wall Street 2. As part of the divorce decree she would receive any money on any spinoffs based on movies from when they were together, however spinoff is not a legal term and the courts will have a hard time deciding this one. Could spinoff mean a derivation, a sequel, etc? How interesting is it that ONE word can make or break the meaning behind a contract? Spinoff usually means when one character from an original TV series breaks off on his or her own and makes a completely new series. This seems to be improper wording on Diandra’s lawyer’s part, as Michael Douglas is a film actor and not a TV actor. Yet Diandra could make the case that the character of Gordon Gecko is the only character that remains the same in this new film, which could make it a spinoff of sorts as opposed to a sequel that usually retains its original cast. This case will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
I’ll move on to a separate podcast by Georgetown University’s law center. It’s from their first Sports and Entertainment Law Symposium and Launch of GEMALaw. One lawyer talks about her experiences of how she got to where she is. Her most important piece of advice is that law students should pay attention to the business side of the industry they are in and not solely focus on the law. She divulges further by explaining that what makes a lawyer particularly effective in the entertainment industry is that they know the business that their clients are in and are abreast of all news and issues affecting those industries. I believe that even if you are not a student of law you should take this advice to heart. To succeed in any industry you should know the ins and outs of the business you are involved in as well as the business the people you work with are involved. In that way you can relate to those people better, build that trust since they will feel that you understand them, and grow a stronger business.
Thanks for reading!
0 comments:
Post a Comment