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ENTERTAINMENT LAW practice encompasses every facet of the entertainment industry and accordingly, the law firm handles matters for clients locally, nationally and internationally in such areas as film, music, television, literary publishing, multimedia, fine arts, copyright and trademark. Below is a sample of the kinds of matters applicable to these concentrations. Services include counsel and advice as well as drafting and negotiation of contracts.
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ALERT !!
BEWARE of invention submission and promotion companies. They advertise their services as filing for your invention's patent and marketing the product for you. These are generally scams which elicit thousands of dollars from you and provide you with little or no services in return. Always have an attorney review any contract prior to signing. I have represented client claims against both American Inventors Corporation & Invention Submission Corporation. See the United States Patent & Trademark Office website.
BEWARE of JETSPEED Records, TALENT2000 (TALENT2K, T2K), GALAXY RECORDS and COURTLAND TYLER. His record company is a fraudulant operation and his name is an alias. Most of the bands "signed" to him are fictitious or are simply him and his friends. I have represented 4 separate artists nationally against him who either were going to sign or signed with him and lost thousands of dollars to him. He usually never gets artists a finished product.
Be smart. Be wary of companies with no fixed office; or who meet with you everywhere but in their own office. Be wary if you have to front ANY money. Be wary if you are required to buy back your own product!! Be wary when a company requires you to utilize the services of other specific companies they work with. And always seek the advice of a QUALIFIED lawyer BEFORE signing ANY contracts!
- Production company creation
- Independent film financing
- Securities exemptions
- Budget
- Key personnel employment contracts (Director, Producer, Writer, Actor)
- Distribution agreements (theatrical, video, pay & free tv, foreign)
- Letters of Intent
- Music synchronization & master use license agreements
- Screenplay options
- Acquisition of literary property
- Copyright & trademark
- Releases
- Guild agreements (SAG, DGA, WGA)
- Composer agreements
- Soundtrack agreements
- E & O insurance
- Treatment or idea submissions
- Confidentiality/Non-disclosure agreements
- Copyright
- Joint ownership of copyright
- Management <---CLICK FOR MORE INFO !
- Production company formation
- Record label company formation
- Recording artist contracts
- Production deals
- Distribution agreements
- Record deals
- Sample licensing
- Work-for-hire agreements
- Publishing, sub-publishing, co-publishing
- ASCAP/BMI/SESAC
- Demo submissions <---CLICK FOR MORE INFO !
- Songwriter agreements
- Group/band agreements
- Trademark name & logo
- Venue contracts
- Publishing agreements
- Literary option agreements
- Copyright
- Writers guild registration
- Self-publishing
- Submissions
- Rights acquisition (life story, etc)
- Copyright Forms
- Copyright application (forms & registration), NEW FEES 05/01/14!
- Copyright searches
- Copyright infringement
- Trademark application (forms & registration)
- Trademark searches
- Trademark infringement
- Cease & desist letters
- Name availability
- Internet content
- Domain names
- Ms. Davison's ARTICLES as a freelance arts & entertainment reviewer.
- Hello Craft's 2011 Summit of Awesome October 20-22, 2011
- Baltimore Songwriters Association, June 27, 2011
- Ms. Davison is appointed to the Board of Director of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc.
- dc independent film festival, March 15, 2009: Legal Panel on Film & Music - Washington, DC
- Ms. Davison is the only alum invited to speak on more than one panel at the "Year In The Arts" at her alma mater, Haverford College:
Haverford in Hollywood - November 9, 2007
Diane Davison '86, entertainment lawyer
Roger Director '71, writer ("Hill Street Blues," "Moonlighting")
Chris Goutman '73, producer ("As the World Turns")
Mark Hudis '90, writer/producer ("That 70s Show")
Daniel Dae Kim '90, actor ("Lost")
Jeff Silberman '78, entertainment lawyer
Jon Wax '94, drama development
Behind the Scenes-a Filmmaking Workshop and Student Film Festival, January 26, 2008
Diane Davison '86, entertainment law
Ben Hickernell '00, writer/director/producer (Cellar)
Andrew Millstein '84, producer (Disney animation)
- Ms. Davison is quoted in the October 2006 ICOMM Production News, about her clients' animated documentary Freedom Dance,
narrated by 2006 Emmy® award winner Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU). Read it HERE!
- Interview on WBAL-TV NEWS at 11 (Baltimore NBC affiliate), April 18, 2005
- Goucher College, Arts Administration graduate class - Towson, MD
- Howard County Community College, Music Business class - Columbia, MD
- Leading Edge Writers' Studios Workshop - Columbia, MD
- Maryland Institue College of Art - Baltimore, MD
- Shulman, Rogers, Gandal, Pordy & Ecker, P.A. - Rockville, MD
- Careers In Music Workshop at John Tyler Community College - Chester, Virginia
- MotionFest East
- dc independent film festival - Washington, DC
- University of Baltimore School of Law, Alumni Association
- University of Baltimore School of Law, Sports Entertainment & Arts Law Assoc
- University of Maryland School of Law, Intellectual Property Assoc
- University of Maryland School of Law, Entertainment Arts & Sports Law Assoc
Ms. Davison taught Entertainment Law as an Adjunct Law Professor at the University of Baltimore Law School, originating the course in a Maryland law school. If you are interested in viewing any of these materials, please feel free to visit:Entertainment Law Course Web Site
As part of the course, Ms. Davison prepared a listing of many important entertainment law related web sites for reference purposes:Entertainment Law Related Web Sites
And a bibliography of books on the Legal and Business aspects of the Entertainment Industry:
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