Practice AreasEntertainment Law

Entertainment Law

Most entertainment disputes are contract disputes that were decided long before anyone was unhappy — in the definition of net proceeds, the scope of a grant of rights, or a credit provision nobody read closely.

Request a Consultation

We work with performers, writers, directors, musicians, producers and production companies on the agreements that define how work is made, owned and paid for. The aim is a deal the client understands before signing, not one that has to be litigated afterwards.

Where a dispute has already arisen, we look first at the paper: what rights were actually granted, what conditions attached to payment, and what the parties did afterwards.

What we handle

Talent, performer and crew agreements
Writer, director and producer deals
Music recording, publishing and sync licensing
Option and purchase agreements for underlying rights
Copyright and trademark registration and enforcement
Rights of publicity and name, image and likeness
Production company formation and financing documents
Contract, credit and royalty disputes

How a Matter Proceeds

Conflicts first.
Then everything else.

Start a request

Conflicts first

Before anything is discussed, the firm checks the names you provide against its existing and former matters. Nothing is taken on, and no detail is invited, until that check is clear.

The consultation

A structured conversation about what has happened, what you want, and what the law actually allows. You leave it knowing the realistic range of outcomes rather than the best one.

Scope and engagement

What the firm will do, what it will cost and what is excluded, set out in writing before work begins. Nothing starts on a handshake.

The work

Documents and facts established first, then strategy. You are told when a position is weak, and told early enough to do something about it.

Common Questions

Questions we are
asked often.

Who owns work made by a contractor?

Not automatically the party paying for it. Under US copyright law, work made for hire applies to employees, and to a limited list of commissioned categories with a signed written agreement. Without that, ownership stays with the creator absent a written assignment.

What does "net proceeds" actually mean?

Whatever the agreement defines it to mean. The term has no fixed meaning, and the definitions section is where the economics of a back-end participation are decided.

Can credit be enforced?

Credit obligations are contractual, and remedies are often limited by the agreement itself — frequently to cure going forward rather than damages. The time to negotiate credit is before signing.

Do I need to register a copyright?

Copyright exists on fixation, but registration is a precondition to filing an infringement suit in the US, and timely registration affects the availability of statutory damages and attorneys' fees.

Insights