Media & Entertainment

Media and Entertainment is one of the most complex industries globally as well as in India. This sector has seen lines blurring between the real and the digital world. The boom of TV, DTH, OTT, Radio, Podcast and Digital Media have seen this industry grow exponentially. Dealing with Media & entertainment has its own set of complexities as it deals with multiple variables i.e. people, financial, artistic, IP, contracts and copyrights etc. Then there is also the complexity of the medium, Web TV, Radio or Live.. All these need special agreements that ensure all bases are covered. There is a convergence of many sectors with the Web, satellite and Print, this convergence has given birth a unique set of legal complications, some of the most common are IP infringement, pornography, defamation, social media channel abuse or content management. Understanding this complex nature, requires a cross domain expertise of Information technology, Electronics, Telecommunications and content. Today each one, be it the content producers, the artist or the broadcasting houses, all need to have legal assets to protect their business interest. Addrey Consultants have a team of fulltime and independent consultants from the media domain, telecommunications, information technology industry that help companies within the Media and Entertainment industry protect their interests from a regulatory and legal standpoint.

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Case Study

We recently met a producer who had produced a regional film and had the first screening a few days prior to launching the movie. Despite there being an embargo on the news a couple media professionals took it upon themselves to publish scathing reviews of the movie. This resulted in the screening agreements taking a huge hit and the number of screens were reduced by the cinema halls even before the film was released, this resulted in huge financial losses for the producer. Today gaining rights to sporting events has a huge cost a fortune and therefore it becomes imperative that the media house winning the rights bid protects their investment. In the recent past we have seen a host of channels taking legal action against websites looking to block them in entirety. In-fact the Delhi High Court recently granted an injunction to block entire websites on the discovery that they would stream webcasts of a sporting event for which a leading news channel had obtained broadcasting rights. While passing this order the honourable High court specifically considered the practicalities involved with moving pirated content across URLs and websites.

Services

  • Drafting of Content acquisition, Production, Co-production, Licensing and Distribution agreements.
  • Artist, Celebrity, Fashion model and Endorsement contracts.
  • Television, film, radio, and new media transactions.
  • Due diligence, clearances and regulatory compliances; and
  • Services also include Anti-piracy.
  • Drafting of Vendor Notices, Replies, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Bonds and
  • Affidavits construction
  • Litigation and alternate dispute resolution
  • Disputes, claims, and government related actions.
  • Advisory on acquisitions, investments, financing, joint ventures, and mergers related to entertainment, media and sports industry.
  • Drafting of complex digital media and technology agreements such as; licensing agreements, IP transfer agreements, Broadcaster Website License agreement, Agreement for commissioned program and Drama and Stage Show agreement