When the stage lights shine and actors assume their live roles, the audience becomes immersed in the story and characters without giving a thought to all that goes into a stage production. Money must be raised to finance a show, directors and actors must be contracted to work, and the rights to the creative work must be obtained.

All these duties and more are the lifeblood of a show, while the performance is the heart. An entertainment law attorney with the proper skills must keep the lifeblood flowing. A West Palm theater lawyer facilitates all aspects of this creative division under the umbrella of entertainment law. Call now to learn how we can protect your interests in various ways.

Duties of Theater Lawyers

A theater lawyer, also called production counsel, must be versatile enough to handle entertainment issues, intellectual property, contracts, negotiations, and to be a general adviser for employment and other business issues. The primary goal is to get the most out of a theater production, which could include changing venues after a short run or arranging live streaming to increase the breadth of an audience. Skills that production counsel can provide include:

  • Raising production funds: soliciting investors and ensuring the contracts are proper, or seeking grants or loans
  • Drafting collaborative contracts for project development, including for acquisition of rights to copyrighted work and theater venues
  • Presenting or reviewing contracts for the artistic staff: directors, actors, and backstage workers
  • Advising about advertising for a production
  • Overseeing the treatment of child actors
  • Litigating when an impasse arises

Whether a client is producing a play at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts or an actor is starring in a play off Broadway, a West Palm Theater attorney can help realize the artistic vision.

Production Counsel is an Adviser in Many Legal Areas

A theater lawyer also serves as adviser in matters that may not seem immediately apparent, such as whether the crew consists of independent contractors or employees, or how child or animal actors must be treated. They can also handle union and guild members issues. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), United Scenic Artists, and Dramatists’ Guild of America are three of the associations our theater lawyers can work with on a West Palm client’s behalf.

Protection from Violating Copyrights

When a theater lawyer negotiates the rights to produce a play, ownership of the written words is protected by copyrights, because a play is an artistic expression. Do not assume that a beloved play or book can be staged for profit without permission because it has been produced before. Production companies require licensing agreements to avoid being sued for copyright infringement. Alternately, if a play, or song used in it, is original and written by an artist under contract with the production company, an attorney can register a copyright to protect the material and devise contracts that define and defend it. An attorney can discuss protecting a theatrical work in West Palm or defending against an accusation of infringement.

Call Us and Make a West Palm Theater Attorney Your Production Ally

There are legal challenges to producing a play today: raising money from investors, securing talent through contracts, and defending intellectual property, such as the written story and associated music. While a producer, director, and actor have varied legal needs, production counsel can attend to all of them.

If you are involved in the theater business in South Florida, you need your rights protected if you are an actor, investor, producer, or writer. To ensure a play succeeds as a creative expression in a tangible form, contact a West Palm Beach theater lawyer now.

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