Business Law

Below you will find a partial listing of our Corporate Law Services. If you don't see a particular topic listed and you would like more information, please Contact Us so we can get you the information you need.

- Corporate Formation (Inc, C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC, LLP, LLLP)
- Corporate Minutes and Record Keeping
- Venture Funding Agreements
- Shareholder Agreements
- Intellectual Property Agreements
- Non-disclosure Agreements
- Technology and Venture Licensing Agreements
- Copyrights
- Trademarks

Entertainment Law

Below you will find a partial listing of our Entertainment Law Services. If you don't see a particular topic listed and you would like more information, please Contact Us so we can get you the information you need.

- Recording Agreements (Record Deals)
- Music Publishing Deals
- Songwriter Agreements
- Movie and Television Music Licensing
- Production Agreements
- Artist/Producer Agreements
- Record Label Venture Capital Agreements
- Copyright
- Trademark
- Artist Management Agreements
- Band Incorporation
- Band Operating Agreements
- Life Story Film Depiction Releases

Venture Capital Representation

If you are ready for Venture Capital, then you need to have Venture Capital Representation. While you may want to raise some outside money, you can’t, “ give up the farm” to do so. Having been on both sides of the Venture Capital table, we know the process and can help you in many ways to structure the right deal for you. If you would like to discuss how we can help you with your Venture Capital goals, feel free to Contact Us.

Trademarks

Consumers identify You by Your Name. If someone is using the same name as You, they could be tarnishing Your reputation and You may not even know it. Federal Trademark law allows You to protect Your name and protect consumers from being confused by imitators. Registering Your Business, Band or Product Name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office will allow You the right to use the ® and is widely considered to add credibility and a sense of commitment and establishment to Your cause. It also affords You added protection against future competitors and imitators. On the other side of the spectrum, You don’t want to start building a brand only to find out that there is another business, band or product that has been using the same name and has the rights to the name based on prior use. It could force You to make the costly investment to change Your name and everything associated with it. Don’t let all of Your hard work in establishing Your name go to waste. Protect your investment.

If You would like to find out how Trademark law affects Your Brand, Band or Business, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss it with You.

Copyrights

If you are the author/creator of original Musical, Literary or Artistic Work (including a Photograph, Audio Recording, Song, Lyrics, Sheet Music, Website, Magazine or Book) and you have not protected your work with a Registered Copyright, your are leaving many of your rights on the table. Many creators and authors rely on “common law” Copyright protection to protect them without realizing that if you do not Register your Copyright with the US Copyright Office:

1. You cannot sue anyone for copyright infringement until the work is registered
2. A court will not award reimbursement for attorneys fees or statutory damages prior to the work being registered (except in very limited circumstances)
3. You cannot take advantage of the preferential treatment of Registered works. Registration of the work within 5 years of its creation establishes what is referred to in court as “Prima Facie” evidence. This means that the Court will accept your proof of Registration with the US Copyright Office as sufficient evidence that you own the Copyrighted work in question.

Register your Copyrighted works so that You can reap the benefits of your hard work. If you would like to discuss Registering Your work with the US Copyright Office in further detail, we would be happy to discuss it with you.

Business Plan Drafting & Review

All successful businesses need a written Business Plan. A written Business Plan helps to make your goals real to yourself and those you attract for affiliations or Venture Capital. A good Business Plan must not only tell your story but it has to be created and written in a way that answers the questions investors and potential partners want to know. It may look easy to put together a Business Plan but unless you have, “been there” you “don’t know what you don’t know”. A professionally developed Business Plan may be the catalyst for success, getting the attention of potential investors or maybe even getting the funding you may be trying to secure. Let us help you formulate a real Plan for your business to follow and then put that plan in a visual format that puts your best foot forward and also protects you legally.

Assest Planning & Protection

If you want to get in trouble fast, try using some of the old asset protection strategies that were “the cool thing to do” a few years back. In the modern days of the Patriot Act and newly empowered judges, poor asset planning and protection can find you in jail in addition to debt. We don’t say this lightly or to scare you, but to make sure you are at least on notice that there is a great deal of bad information on asset planning and protection.

Are there still ways to structure your assets to decrease liability and protect you from people who want to sue you or divorce you? Absolutely there are. However, the correct method of protecting yourself and your family is to use strategies that have been tested in court and that will not expose you to bigger problems. Talk to anyone you like first, just make sure you speak to us afterwards and we will show you ideas that will be common sense, (even if not common knowledge) and keep you out of other kinds of trouble. It may seem rebellious fun to be an asset protection pioneer but remember it is the pioneers that got arrows shot in their back.

Problem Solver

You won’t see problem solving as a specialty with many law firms but we think it is what we do best. We have dealt with most of the government regulators, (from the SEC to the IRS), multimillion dollar class action law suits against our clients, and partnership squabbles from business partners to political parties to husbands and wives. Each case and circumstance is different but in reality, it is all the same…there is a problem and it must be solved. Intuition and the ability to understand communicate and feel “the deal” are the traits that are always necessary to untangle the mess. If this makes sense to you …and you have a problem…call us.

Info-Marketing Law™

In the speed of today’s business world, actionable information creates opportunity. Opportunity creates a position for unique revenue streams and fast, high margin, profits to the individual or company who controls the flow of information. Naturally, opportunities of this magnitude get the focus of government regulators and enterprising info-marketers need sound legal advice to navigate the complex mix of legal disciplines.

Info-Marketing Law is a legal practice that connects the diverse disciplines of intellectual property, contract law, franchising, business opportunity, consumer protection, FTC Regulation, Corporate securities, business law and internet law, blending them into a specialty for the Information Business.