Entertainment Law
In our entertainment law practice we represent clients in transactions involving the development, financing, production, and distribution of motion picture, television and interactive projects. Also, the firm is highly regarded for its representation of clients in the publishing industry.
We negotiate rights agreements, including literary option and purchase agreements and life story rights agreements, and agreements for actors, writers, directors and producers. We are adept at reviewing and analyzing complex chains of title. We handle entertainment banking transactions, including production lending agreements and inter-party agreements and structure financial arrangements among producers, equity investors, mezzanine financiers, distributors and senior lenders. We also negotiate completion bond and collection account management agreements.
Our expertise includes serving as production legal counsel to all kinds of productions where we negotiate "above-the-line" talent deals and ensure that all underlying rights and chains of title are secured and protected. We negotiate and draft appropriate agreements with all persons and entities furnishing rights and/or services connected to the production, such as locations, facilities and crew as well as interact with guilds such as SAG, WGA and DGA on behalf of the production.
Today's economics demand that full value be realized from all entertainment properties. We regularly negotiate agreements between sales agents and producer/financiers; and agreements between producers and distributors. We help clients develop strategies to grow and exploit brand value, including licensing, merchandising, commercial tie-in, product placement, publicity and promotion arrangements, copyright, trademark, service mark and trade dress protection.
We work with authors on book deals and represent various writers of fiction and non-fiction works. We negotiate co-author and ghost-writing agreements. We develop, secure and negotiate agreements in connection with book proposals and acquiring underlying rights to the subject matter of the work.
Kaye & Mills has special expertise in the new media field of audio publishing, from book-based audiobook recordings to original audio productions. This includes legal protection from inception to finish, from the acquisition of rights to the distribution agreement for the finished recordings.
[See also: General Business Transactions and Computer, Internet and Electronic Law]
AREAS OF PRACTICE
Production Legal Services
Project Financing
Distribution
Talent Representation: Writers, Directors & Actors
General Business Law
Intellectual Property
E-commerce & Internet Law
Publishing Law
Author & Literary Rights
Licensing
Celebrity Proprietary Rights
New & Evolving Media
Kaye & Mills
8840 Wilshire Boulevard, 3rd Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
310-358-3121
