"Thirtieth annual program : Legal aspects of the entertainment industry, co-sponsored by the Beverly Hills Bar Association and University of Southern California Law Center"--Cover.

Understanding the Business of Entertainment: The Legal and Business Essentials All Filmmakers Should Know is an indispensable guide to the business aspects of the entertainment industry, providing the legal expertise you need to break in and to succeed. Written in a clear and engaging tone, this book covers the essential topics in a thorough but reader-friendly manner and includes plenty of real-world examples that bring business and legal concepts to life. Whether you want to direct, produce, write, edit, photograph or act in movies, this book covers how to find work in your chosen field and examines the key provisions in employment agreements for creative personnel. If you want to make films independently, you’ll find advice on where to look for financing, what kinds of deals might be made in the course of production, and important information on insurance, releases, and licenses. Other topics covered include: Hollywood’s growth and the current conglomerates that own most of the media How specific entertainment companies operate, including facts about particular studios and employee tasks. How studios develop projects, manage production, seek out independent films, and engage in marketing and distribution The kinds of revenues studios earn and how they account for these revenues How television networks and new media-delivery companies like Netflix operate and where the digital revolution might take those who will one day work in the film and TV business As an award- winning screenwriter and entertainment attorney, Gregory Bernstein give us an inside look at the business of entertainment. He proves that knowing what is behind filmmaking is just as important as the film itself.

Entertainment Law and Business is a handy resource for both the experienced and novice practitioner. It provides a broad survey of the entire industry and creative rights laws. It includes incisive summaries of all of the important areas of creative rights law: copyrights, the protection of ideas, trademark, publicity and privacy, and the major international treaties. It also provides an overview of all the major fields of entertainment (and related field of interest for entertainment practitioners) along with illustrative agreements. This is not an esoteric academic treatise. The book aims to aid the practitioner in the practical aspects of entertainment. Hence, the authors have attempted to highlight the key features of the major agreements in each field. They provide insights not only into what the individual provisions of the agreement attempts to regulate, but also the concerns that lie behind those provisions. They point to the types of negotiating strategies important in each agreement, passing on their experience to the practitioner. All of the accompanying sample forms and documents are conveniently included on CD-ROM in RTF (Rich Text Format). RTF allows the user to open each sample clause for use/editing in either Microsoft Word or Corel Wordperfect. Value Package

The entertainment industries continue to experience a tremendous amount of change in business practices and litigation. These changes make this second edition of a highly successful text/reference work a vital resource for lawyers and industry professionals who need to know how each unique entertainment field applies common concerns and legal concepts. The book is thoroughly revised and updated—incorporating the significant changes which have, in recent years, altered the nature of the several entertainment industries. These changes have occurred in four areas: innovation, consolidation, internationalization, and inflation. Each of these four is analyzed in detail and the legal and business implications for the future are discussed. In addition to examining such key elements as the role of agents, managers, and promoters, personal rights, and contracts, this edition again considers each of the major entertainment segments: literary publishing, music publishing, sound recordings, film, television, and theatre. It cites the principal points of controversy in each of the segments. This balanced and comprehensive book, particularly well-received in its first edition, will be an essential resource for those active in the legal and business areas of the challenging and volatile entertainment industries.