The popular music industry continues to evolve.  While landing the big record deal is likely to retain its appeal, writing music is the basis of the industry and accounts for much of the money it generates.  Fraser – Entertainment Law represents recording artists, performers and composers and has specialized in agreements involving the legitimate dissemination of music, sound recordings and other content via the internet.

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, the internet is both a separate medium and an important means of delivering film, television and music.

Copyright laws encourage the creation of, and protect the expression in, creative works by allowing their owners to license them and/or to prevent their misuse. Copyright underlies almost every film, television program and musical work.

Copyright laws attempt to strike a balance between the interests of the creators/owners of copyrighted materials and those of users/societal beneficiaries of these creative works.  The balance keeps shifting, which makes copyright extremely complex.  Technological changes have historically been at the center of the shifts in the balance, with computers and the internet being the latest evolutions to prompt rethinking of that balance.

Whether you are an "author", distributor or user of copyrighted materials (and face it, everyone fits in at least one of these categories), Fraser - Entertainment Law has expertise in Canadian, United States and international copyright laws that is borne from years of transactions and advanced academic pursuit. 

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 frequently called “getting clearances.”

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 secrets laws exist to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of such information.

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.

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 corporations.  The options available will depend on the country or jurisdiction in which the business will operate.

Most individuals who run their own businesses are “sole proprietors”. With some exceptions, sole proprietors do not have to file any forms to start and operate their businesses.

Partnerships are formed every day (sometimes without the partners realizing it), and some jurisdictions require that partnerships file documentation to register their existence.

Whether it is to limit the potential liability exposure that exists in doing business, for purposes of tax planning or financing (such as production tax credits), or because they are required to do so for other reasons, sooner or later businesses will consider incorporation.  Incorporation involves, amongst other things, choosing an available name (not to be confused with a trademark) and filing a formation document with a government office.

Most other forms of business organization, such as limited liability companies, have similarities with partnerships or corporations, including the requirement to file a formation document with a government office.