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Fraser – Entertainment Law focuses on serving the needs of clients in the television, film and internet industries in Canada and the United States.
Entertainment and Media
Fraser – Entertainment Law assists its clients in navigating the constantly changing media and entertainment industry environments that they work in. The firm practices predominantly in the following areas:
| FILM AND TELEVISION |
Producing for film and television is increasingly complex. There are guild, union and industry agreements to consider, licensing and financing, production incentives, writing and vetting of scripts, cast and crew, clearances, currency exchanges, cultural/language issues and cross-border arrangements. Fraser – Entertainment Law specializes in advising film and television clients at all stages of their projects: from inception, through development, financing, production and distribution. |
| MUSIC |
The popular music industry continues to evolve. Fraser – Entertainment Law represents recording artists and composers and has specialized in agreements involving the licensed dissemination of music, sound recordings and other content via the internet. |
| INTERNET & WIRELESS |
The internet continues to revolutionize, at once breaking down long-held means and methods of distributing information/content and opening up unprecedented vistas for entertainment. For Fraser – Entertainment Law clients, the internet and wireless are separate and important means of delivering film, television and music as well as content created for internet and wireless-only platforms. |
Intellectual Property
Copyright, trademark, trade secret and patent law are the four pillars of what is called intellectual property (IP). They are each specialties in their own right.
Fraser - Entertainment Law specializes in copyright law and counseling businesses and individuals who create and distribute copyrighted works. Through a network of IP firms, Fraser - Entertainment Law can assist clients in obtaining expert advice on trademark, trade secret and patent matters.
| COPYRIGHT |
Copyright underlies almost every film, television program and musical work.
Copyright laws are intended to encourage the creation of, and protect the expression in, such creative works.
Whether you are an "author", distributor or user of copyrighted materials, Fraser - Entertainment Law has expertise in United States, Canadian and international copyright laws. |
| LICENSING AND CLEARANCES |
A license is a right to do or use something. Where intellectual property (IP) is concerned, the word “license” is generally synonymous with “contract.” Like contracts, licenses are not always in writing. However, in some cases, licenses must be in writing for the right to use the IP to be effective. The process of obtaining a license to use IP is sometimes called “getting clearances.” |
| TRADE SECRETS |
A trade secret is information that is not widely or publicly known and for which a business has taken efforts to maintain its secrecy. Trade secret laws exist to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of such information.
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| TRADEMARK |
Building the right brand or image is hard work. Trademark laws protect those who adopt and use brand names and other identifiers to distinguish their products and services from those of others.
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Business and Corporate
Fraser - Entertainment Law has advised a wide range of entrepreneurs and established companies in the entertainment industries regarding the formation and management of their businesses, including the buying, selling and licensing of entertainment properties and the merger or acquisition of those businesses.
| FORMATION |
A business has several choices of what form in which to operate. Common ones are general partnerships and corporations. Other forms of business organizations include sole proprietorships, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and not-for-profit entities. The options available will depend on the country or jurisdiction(s) in which the business will operate. |
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