The Sheehan Phinney Entertainment, Media and Publishing Group handles a wide variety of transactional and litigation matters for individual artists, entrepreneurs and businesses across this diverse and varied field. Our clients include regional and national radio and television broadcast companies, creative services agencies, independent film and television producers, filmmakers, print and electronic publishers, literary agencies and agents, writers, musicians and performers.
Attorneys in the Entertainment, Media and Publishing Group draw on their legal expertise as well as their individual industry experiences to help clients achieve their business goals and creative vision. Members of our group include a published author, former in-house counsel to an international television network, and a graduate of the University of Southern California's M.F.A. program in film producing. When necessary, our group works closely with our colleagues in other specialized practice areas in order to fulfill the varied needs of our entertainment clients. Examples of our collaborative efforts include trademark and copyright advice in conjunction with Sheehan Phinney's Intellectual Property and Technology Group and close consultation with our Taxation and Securities and Venture Capital Groups in the complex area of independent film financing. Working together, we free our entertainment clients to follow their vision, knowing that Sheehan Phinney will be there to watch their step.
Services offered to clients in the film, television, radio and publishing industries include:
- Structuring private offerings of equity securities in connection with financing independent film projects, including drafting private placement memoranda and related offering documents.
- Drafting and negotiating production agreements and program licenses.
- Negotiating deals on behalf of writers, recording artists and performers, and drafting the requisite contracts and agreements.
- Drafting options and acquisition agreements for the motion picture and television rights to screenplays, novels and other literary works.
- Advising clients and negotiating agreements in connection with concerts, seminars, speaking engagements and other live event programming.
- Negotiating and, when necessary, litigating contract and royalty disputes between and among artists, writers, agents and publishers.
- Advising clients with respect to copyright and trademark matters.
- Advising clients with respect to First Amendment, libel, privacy and defamation issues.
- Entity planning and formation for producers, performers and other creative professionals.
Recent representative matters include:
- Representation of a producing team, including an Academy Award winning screenwriter, in structuring and forming an independent production company for the development and production of independent feature films, including preparation of a private offering to initial investors.
- Representation of a creative services agency in the negotiation of the television and sponsorship rights for a package of NCAA football games to be broadcast on a national cable television network.
- Representation of a well-known New York City literary agency against a major New York City publishing house and a best-selling celebrity author in a contract action for unpaid royalties and rights to subsidiary works.
- Representation of a writer-creator in negotiating a production services agreement for the production of a web-based concept pilot for a television situation comedy series.
- Counsel to radio station ownership group: formation and negotiation of venture capital and senior debt financing; subsequent acquisition or sale of over 60 radio stations throughout the United States.
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