Arts, Entertainment & Media

Arts, Entertainment and Media law are terms applied to a mix of more traditional legal subjects. The differentiating factor is the focus on providing legal services to the entertainment industry. Generally speaking, entertainment law often involves questions of labor & employment law, immigration, securities law, security interests, agency and intellectual property (copyright, trademarks, Rights of Publicity and Privacy). Much of the work of an entertainment law practice is transaction based, i.e. drafting contracts, negotiation and mediation. Some disputes may lead to litigation or arbitration. David M. Adler has been identified as an Illinois Rising Star in the areas of First Amendment & Media Law from 2009-2012 and a Super Lawyer since 2013. David formerly taught Music Law as an Adjunct Professor at the DePaul College of Law in Chicago as well as Arts & Entertainment Law at Columbia College Chicago.

Entertainment law is generally categorized based upon the types of activities and each has its own specific trade union, production techniques, rules, customs, case law, and negotiation strategies. The firm has a wide range of experience, including counseling clients on the following:

Film: option and rewrite agreements, finance, title issues, talent (scriptwriters, film directors, actors, composers, set designers), production and post production, trade union issues, distribution, motion picture industry, and general intellectual property issues.

Multimedia: software, video game development and production, ecommerce, social networking/social media.

Publishing & Print Media: advertising, model and talent agreements, author agreements, film options, distribution and copyright-related issues.

Music: talent (musicians, composers, producers), synchronization rights, recording agreements music industry negotiation and general intellectual property issues.

TV & Radio: employment agreements, broadcast licensing and regulatory issues, mechanical licenses.

Theater & Dance: lease and rental agreements, production, co-production and finance agreements, and other performance-oriented legal issues.

Visual Arts & Design: including fine arts, issues of consignment of artworks to art dealers, moral rights of sculptors regarding works in public places; and industrial design, issues related to the protection of graphic design elements in products.