Film and Law

Filmmaking, whether it’s short films, documentaries, or feature length motion pictures, involves a broad spectrum of legal issues including copyright, trademark, licensing, product placement, merchandising, actor agreements, crew agreements, location releases, music rights, insurance, and so much more. Legal clearances, contracts, and protections are a crucial factor in the creation of any film and getting an experienced legal team involved early on can make sure your film doesn’t stall when it comes time to get insurance, distribute, or market and release your film. Check out our Film Legal Checklist for a list of things to consider and ways we can help.

What Can a Lawyer do For You?

As lawyers specializing in the legal issues that arise in the creation, marketing, and distribution of a film, we help our clients with contracts, clearance, copyrights, trademarks, licensing, and everything else necessary to make and release a film. This includes drafting, negotiating, and reviewing all sorts of contracts like actor agreements, work for hire agreements, crew agreements, location/property releases, music and synch licenses, composer/score agreements, and insurance. It includes protecting the copyright of the film and trademark protection of names and logos. It means maximizing our clients’ rights and revenue. And it means answering questions about the ins and outs of making a successful film. Essentially, we are here to handle the business and legal stuff so you can make a great film! Please reach out to us at Creative Law Network if you have any questions. We’re here to help!

Authors and Publishers and the Law

Getting a book or article out to the public requires more than a good idea and a keyboard. Legal clearances, contracts, and protections are crucial factors in the creation and publication of a written work. Getting an experienced legal team involved early can ensure a work gets published and distributed. If you are looking for a legal team with expertise working with authors and publishers, contact us at Creative Law Network. Check out our Authors and Publishers Legal Checklist for a list of things to consider and ways we can help.

What Can a Lawyer do For You?

As lawyers specializing in the legal issues that arise in the creation, publishing, and distribution of  written works, we help our clients with contracts, manuscript review, clearances, copyrights, trademarks, licensing, and everything else necessary to publish and distribute. This includes drafting, negotiating, and reviewing all sorts of contracts like publishing agreements, work for hire agreements, distribution agreements, life rights agreements, and option agreements. It includes protecting the copyright in the work and trademark protection of names and logos. And it means answering questions about the ins and outs of creating and publishing successfully. Essentially, we are here to handle the business and legal stuff so you can get the work out there! Please reach out to us at Creative Law Network if you have any questions. We’re here to help!

Voting is open this week only for Denver Startup Week 2021! Please consider voting for "Can I Post This? Putting Creative Content Online" a presentation presented by Colorado Attorneys for the Arts and led by our own Dave Ratner! Click the link below to cast your vote!

We operate in a virtual marketplace of video and design where creative content reigns. Especially in the last year, we've seen an explosion of online content in all sectors. When creating online media using third-party content, you have to ask yourself: Can I post this? Do I have the rights to use this music in my promo video? Can I use this photo on my webpage? Do I have permission to share this [video, song, image] on my [website, social media, blog]? And, how do I protect my own creative content when it's shared online? This presentation will explain the law and concepts that underlie the answers to these questions. The interactive conversation will provide general guidance on integrating and distributing content on digital platforms as well as basic copyright and licensing concepts.

Click Here to Vote!

Join us tomorrow at the 7th Annual Youth on Record Block Party online from 11 AM - 5PM!

Make sure to check out Dave's Copyright 101 presentation at 2 PM. We'll see you there!

Learn More and RSVP Here!

How are artists making money in 2021? How do they piece together digital streams, virtual events, creating for synch, building/rebuilding relationships, and planning future directions? Who is taking the risk of uncertainty in future concerts happening and at what density? Dave Ratner and fellow panelists Justin Ruoff, Jay Gilbert, Stacy Bedford, and Wade Metzler shared their observations about how artists are actually making money in our current environment.

"computer-generated design 37" by lisafree54, marked with CC0 1.0

Join Dave Ratner and Eric Kintner this Friday, April 30, 2021 for a webinar presented by CBCA’s Colorado Attorneys for the Arts as they discuss the intersection of Art, Blockchain, and Copyrights. This presentation will cover a basic understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrency, as well as copyright law for creative works. They will discuss the potential implications of this confluence on future artist ownership rights, licensing, and the creative industries, such as music and fine art.

Learn More and Register Here

Where: Online!

When: Friday, April 30, 2021

What Time: 12:00 - 1:00 PM MT

The virtual 2021 Amplify Music Conference begins on April 21, 2021!

Join Dave and fellow panelists Justin Ruoff, Jay Gilbert, and Stacey Bedford on April 22 at 12:25 MT as they discuss how artists will be making money in 2021 and 2022.

How are artists making money in 2021? How do they piece together digital streams, virtual events, creating for synch, building/rebuilding relationships, and planning future directions? Who is taking the risk of uncertainty in future concerts happening and at what density? This panel will share its observations about how artists are actually making money in the current environment.

Where: Online!

When: April 22, 2021

What Time: 12:25 PM MT

Click here to register and learn more

The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program aims to provide financial aid to live venue operators and promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, museum operators, motion picture theatre operators, and talent representatives effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Per the US Small Business Administration (SBA), eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue, with the maximum amount available for a single grant award of $10 million. $2 billion is reserved for eligible applications with up to 50 full-time employees.

Applications open Thursday, April 8, 2021

Visit the SBA Website to learn more about eligibility, application deadlines, and more.

We are excited to announce that Dave Ratner has been named a 2021 Top Lawyer in 5280 Magazine!

Dave has been recognized as a 5280 Top Lawyer since the list was created!

Congratulations, Dave!

The rollout of the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) began on January 1, 2021, as laid out in the Music Modernization Act. The MLC will streamline the mechanical licensing system and should result in more mechanical royalties being paid to songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers. Here’s what that means for artists, and why it’s important to join the MLC!

What is it? The MLC was designed with songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers in mind, many of whom faced issues collecting their mechanical royalties from digital service providers like Spotify and Pandora (“DSPs”). Prior to the MLC, mechanical licenses were obtained by licensees on a song-by-song basis, which often led to the artists losing out on their well-deserved royalties. The MLC hopes to remedy this shortcoming and put more money into the hands of the artists, where it belongs. By joining the MLC as a songwriter, composer, lyricist, or publisher, you can take advantage of this new system and start collecting the money you’re owed.

So how does this all work? The MLC will replace the song-by-song licensing system with a new blanket license system. The MLC will develop and maintain a comprehensive database of musical works and sound recordings, which will be publicly available. Using this database, the MLC will administer blanket mechanical licenses to DSPs in the United States. The MLC will collect mechanical royalties from DSPs and pay you for when your songs are streamed or downloaded on the DSPs’ platforms.

So how will you get paid? Songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers will need to become members of the MLC to collect payments. Members  can register their musical works with the MLC database, review and update existing works, and identify new sound recordings that feature their works. Each DSP will send MLC monthly usage data, including when your songs are streamed or downloaded on the DSP’s platform, and the corresponding royalties to be paid to you. Once the MLC determines the royalties due for each work, the MLC will deliver payments directly to you through your MLC account!

If you are a songwriter, composer, lyricist, or publisher, you can sign up with the MLC here to ensure you get paid the mechanical royalties you are owed. And there are a couple of MLC webinars coming up on February 18 & 23 (see below). If you have any questions about the MLC or how to sign up, please reach out to us at Creative Law Network and we’ll help in any way we can!

The MLC Presents: Why & How to Become a Member
Thursday, February 18, 9 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. CT | Noon ET

Register Here 

The MLC Presents: How Self-Administered Songwriters Can Connect to Collect
Tuesday, February 23, 9 a.m. PT | 11 a.m. CT | Noon ET

Register Here