Media, Entertainment and Intellectual Property

Gregory Abrams Davidson's Media Department is experienced in acting for a variety of media, technology and entertainment companies, celebrities, sports personalities, investors and professionals involved in the sector.

We act for both new and old media clients and have helped many other enterprises and individuals to adapt and take advantage of new business opportunities that the "Information Age" provides.

We also have a highly-regarded practice in other convergent sectors and provide corporate, commercial and property advice for our clients in the Media and Entertainment sector.

We provide a reliable and efficient service, covering many media-focused legal issues, including reputation management, privacy and defamation, Intellectual Property, Entertainment, I.T., telecommunications and E-Commerce, film, TV, music and publishing.

Reputation Management

Reputation Management is about helping individuals and businesses keep their reputations intact.

A good reputation is achieved over time. Business reputations are hard to win but quickly lost. Loss of confidence in a business’s brand, its products or its services by any group of stakeholders can quickly lead to the decline of any enterprise, most strikingly in service businesses such as finance, law or other professional services.

Our specialist team can advise on:

• Libel & Slander (including defamatory statements posted in blogs, internet chat rooms and discussion forums)
• Privacy Protection
• Dealings with all aspects of the media: the press, TV, radio and Internet
• Advertising matters

In addition, our more “pro-active” Reputational services include Company “Name Watching”, media searches and investigations and online monitoring of the “Deep Web” to uncover any new references to you or your company.

As soon as a potential problem arises, our advice is to contact us as soon as possible.

Whether you are faced with: a third party passing itself off in the media as you or your company; an approach from a newspaper journalist; a disgruntled employee causing problems; your name or likeness being used without your consent; or the dissemination of defamatory or potentially damaging materials, by taking swift, effective action you will have a better chance of avoiding, or at least minimising, the potential damage.

We have ties with specialist media relations firms and PR consultants and we always aim to provide practical, commercial, cost-effective legal advice to achieve the right result for you in the shortest possible time.

Intellectual Property

Whether you are registering your brand, licensing I.P. or protecting your I.P. rights, a structured approach based on expert advice is essential.

Our team is strengthened by a network of third-party specialist advisors, based both in the UK and abroad ensures that our clients are receiving the most current guidance in this fast-changing environment. This team structure, together with our flexible approach to fees ensures that our clients receive quality, affordable support from experienced solicitors.

I.P. matters include:

• Copyright, TM and Patent registrations
• Branding
• Acquiring or assigning intellectual property portfolios
• Drafting and negotiating:
• Licensing and Assignment Agreements
  • Joint Venture and Collaboration Agreements
  • Research and Development contracts
  • International technology transfer agreements
  • Intellectual Property infringement settlements
• Advising on database issues
• Counterfeit goods claims
• Intellectual Property litigation
• Patent disputes
• Design right claims

Entertainment

Our Entertainment solicitors advise on:

• all book, newspaper, magazine and online publishing agreements
• advertisement clearance, compliance with advertising codes and complaints to media regulatory bodies
• drafting and negotiating many music-related contracts, including management, agency, recording, publishing, distribution, merchandising, performing, licensing agreements and disputes, royalty audits and chain of title investigations
• film and TV production matters for UK-based film and TV production companies, ranging from acquiring rights and producing programmes and documentaries to merchandising and distribution agreements

Information Technology & E-Commerce

Our I.T. solicitors understand the technology behind the software and the legal and commercial issues involved in the project or dispute and are able to advise on matters involving contract preparation, negotiation and IT and technology-related disputes when they arise. Our expertise includes:

• Interactive and new media
• Drafting software licences
• Drafting and negotiating outsourcing agreements
• Advising on software licence and ownership issues Software licences
• Source code deposit agreements
• Software and licensing disputes 

Our I.T. expertise covers e-Commerce and we are experienced in drafting website terms and conditions, and advising on the legal, practical and commercial issues of managing a website. Our expertise includes:

• Website T’s and C’s
• Privacy policies
• Website user agreements
• Website design agreements
• Website hosting agreements
• Website linking agreements
• Domain Name acquisitions / assignments
• Internet and e-business disputes
• Cyber squatting
• Domain name disputes
• Online defamation claims and reputation protection
• Data protection and privacy issues
• Advising on consumer rights in e-commerce transactions
• Advising on the unauthorised use or copying of text, images and trade marks
• Advising on defamatory statements in blogs, internet chat rooms and discussion forums

Our solicitors provide focused, affordable, commercial and practical legal advice on all aspects of Media, I.P. or Entertainment Law. For advice about any of the above issues or for any general enquiries, please contact our specialist team who are ready to help.