Entertainment
Mandell Menkes lawyers have a long-established focus on creative industries and endeavors. The firm represents both institutional and talent clients in a variety of transactional and litigation matters – including complex contractual negotiations and other strategic transactions – and crafts favorable outcomes to difficult problems.
Its lawyers combine experience and sound judgment with a deep understanding of the entertainment industry. Many boast a background in the arts, and all have a passion for serving industry clients.
The firm handles transactions and litigation across all major segments of the entertainment industry, including motion pictures, theatre, music, and publishing. Our clients range from artists and their managers to the producers, publishers and distributors of their work. We routinely handle agreements regarding financing, production, recording, management, and talent, including touring and personal appearances.
Our lawyers also have extensive experience working with public and private broadcasters with agreements related to production underwriting and co-production. We advise clients on maintaining regulatory compliance with Federal Communications Commission rules, including those related to station and tower licensing, online and mobile media, and on-air contests and sweepstakes. We also assist with employment issues related to unionized and non-unionized employees and independent contractors.
Working with content providers and content creators, we help clients to protect and enforce their intellectual property rights, including copyrights and trademarks. Our lawyers provide advice on licensing, the acquisition and distribution of content, and selecting, securing, and protecting product and service names. We have extensive experience in matters related to digital distribution, particularly in developing new business models and in identifying the intellectual property rights implicated by innovative media platforms.
The firm is also committed to advancing the rights of artists, producers, distributors and media companies through its work in the entertainment community. Among them, the attorneys teach at multiple law schools, have served on the board of governors and other leadership positions at the Lawyers for the Creative Arts and currently hold various leadership roles for the Recording Academy, known for the GRAMMY Awards.