Entertainment Law

Note: This course is offered every other year and may be offered again in 2027-2028.

This is a specialized course in entertainment law. It covers key copyright and contract issues and recent regulatory measures (including the Online Streaming Act) that are essential to the film, television, music, book publishing, digital media and videogame industries. The practical will be emphasized over the theoretical with a particular focus on contract drafting and negotiation and client advice. A central objective is to provide students with an understanding of the legal aspects of entertainment businesses and the related role of lawyers. 
 
You will meet several entertainment lawyers, each of whom has his or her own particular expertise and distinctive style of practicing. You will review entertainment industry agreements with the lawyers who negotiated them. You will discuss the challenging legal issues arising from digital distribution and the use of AI. Your course of study will cover the practical and legal aspects involved in the development, creation, financing and exploitation of various entertainment properties. For example: television and film production, talent, distribution and financing agreements, rights clearances, music recording and music publishing agreements and videogame distribution agreements. Students will ideally come away from the course with an appreciation not just for the legal issues that underlie the various agreements, but also an insight into the negotiation of these agreements and the legal structuring of films, tv and online programs, books, music and other entertainment products.