In the rapidly evolving entertainment, arts and media industries, a client’s success depends on skilled and experienced legal counsel. We at Reavis Page Jump LLP advise clients on all aspects of film, television, digital and new media production. We also counsel writers, producers, talent, creatives and executives in fashion, lifestyle, sports, fine arts and publishing on a wide variety of matters, including entertainment-related contracts, rights clearance and acquisition, intellectual property protection, business structuring and financial transactions. Our lawyers further work with corporations and non-profit organizations on entertainment and media-related matters involving theatre, film, television, digital media, art, photography and publishing, and serve on the boards of directors for a number of local arts organizations.
When called for, we represent our clients in litigation, mediation and other dispute resolution procedures and before government agencies for employment matters that arise in film and television production.
Film
In the film industry, our lawyers counsel clients on an array of matters, including:
- Film financing
- Rights acquisition
- Production and talent agreements
- Exploitation of ancillary rights
- Partnerships and collaborations
- Employment and independent contractor (freelance) concerns
- Content licensing
- Fair use
- Clearance
- Distribution
Our lawyers regularly advise on business and legal concerns in both documentaries and feature films and understand the different and evolving models for structuring and financing each type of production. We serve as production legal and negotiate theatrical, broadcast and home video distribution. We pride ourselves on representing many clients in the independent film industry, but have also represented senior level industry executives with great success. We additionally work with producers, writers, directors, designers, musicians and actors, with particular focus on protecting our clients and their intellectual property assets.
Television
In television, our firm counsels clients in:
- Production and co-production agreements
- Talent agreements
- Distribution transactions
- Agreement negotiations with major networks and broadcasters
As in film, we provide production legal services for television production companies on various productions and series. We further represent clients involved in content creation, production design, graphics and animation, and music and scoring, as well as project development concerns.
Media & Publishing
We work with authors, photographers and illustrators in connection with:
- Literary agent representation
- Collaboration agreements
- Domestic and international publishing
- Distribution transactions
- Public relations
- Related website, merchandise and advertising arrangements
Business Agreements & Structuring
Within arts and entertainment, issues frequently arise concerning ownership and protection of material as well as the relationships between artists and/or producers. Our lawyers are skilled in all aspects of intellectual property protection and assist our clients with formalizing arrangements between all parties involved in producing the work (read more about our Intellectual Property practice here). Matters include:
- Authorship and joint authorship arrangements
- Co-production agreements
- Work-for-hire agreements
- Licenses
- Terms of use and concurrent use agreements
- Partnership and joint venture formation
Dealing in all aspects of the entertainment industry, our lawyers are very experienced in structuring corporate and other entities in entertainment and media. We work with financial institutions and investors seeking to support entertainment projects as well as those seeking funding. We have experience with structuring both collaborative entities among creative talent and transactions between producers and broadcasters, domestically and internationally.