Matt Galsor

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Q: So I wrote a pilot with a colleague of mine and we agreed that I would retain copyright, and therefore control of the script, and he would be a 50% profit participant on the sale of the pilot. We also designated the script credits as “Written By” me alone, and “Created By” both of us. Now I’m putting together a production company and I’m going to shoot the project. If/when it comes time to sell the show, how does that affect the deal between my co-creator and myself? How does the studio’s purchase reflect my participation as a production company? I want to keep this as simple as possible… Help.

A: When time comes to sell your show, it’s important that your agreement with your colleague (let’s call him “Jimmy” for the ease of reference) is in writing and signed. If it’s not, the buyer will insist that Jimmy also sign the agreement with the buyer — not just you, and that could lead to all kinds of “misunderstandings” and “differing recollections” about your agreement with Jimmy. Continue reading the full story . . . »

Jeff Krieger

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On November 3, burdened by approximately $5 billion of debt owed to a group of lenders with interests in its most meaningful asset, its massive library of films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer — the venerable studio that brought you such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Ben Hur, andSinging in the Rain — filed for bankruptcy.

For most people who weren’t interested enough to read past the headline — or who were scared away by the ceaseless puns about “the lion in winter” (appropriately, an MGM film) and “the lion’s roar” — the images that may have come to mind probably involved forcible removal of office furnishings and the iconic MGM Tower looking like a giant, glass-and-steel, boarded-up Blockbuster Video (a banner swaying in the L.A. breeze declaring “Every Unreleased Picture Must Go!”). The reality, of course, is completely different and far more mundane. [Ed. Note: Except, perhaps for one thing: this morning's Hollywood Reporter reports that MGM is paying a "one-time fee" to break its lease and vacate the MGM Tower after all. The studio is moving to a fancy new building in Beverly Hills, which is itself currently the subject of a dispute between the landlord and William Morris Endeavor, which was to move into the building prior to the WMA/Endeavor merger.]

MGM didn’t close its doors on November 3. And no, you cannot acquire worldwide distribution rights to The Return of the Pink Panther at yard sale prices. Instead, after months of protracted negotiations, MGM filed a so-called “pre-packaged bankruptcy,” promising to be up and running within a month. And, lo and behold, on December 2, a Manhattan bankruptcy court approved MGM’s Plan of Reorganization, effectively re-releasing the lion into the wild (I made fun of puns in headlines; I made no promises about body text).

Of course, unless you’re a film-loving bankruptcy lawyer, you are probably left scratching your head about the events of the last month and a half. Luckily, you have me — a film-loving bankruptcy lawyer — to help sort this all out. In three easy questions: Continue reading the full story . . . »

This has been Law Law Land’s first year, and while we already love you, we feel like we’re still getting to know you. (Maybe it’s time you introduced us to your parents, no?) So, like many people experiencing their first holiday season with that special someone, we just weren’t sure what to get you for Christmahanukwanzakah (we’re a “big tent” blog). Then, it hit us: we should just get you something that we would like! That way, even if it’s not your favorite, at least someone will get to enjoy it!

Well, one of our readers was nice enough to send us a ShoeDini after all, so no point in getting that again. The Jon Worley Aloysius Wiggle-Worm, Flip-A-Baby, DemonClean, Chop Wow, and Twist-O-Matic all remain tragically fictional. And by the time we got to Things Remembered at the mall, the engraving desk was closed, so we couldn’t give you a bowling ball with our name engraved on it (umm, so you’d always know who gave it to you?). But then we thought back to Thanksgiving, and all those lovely legal turkeys we were thankful for, and all at once it hit us: bizarre legal curiosities!

If you look closely enough, dockets around this country are filled with delightful little stocking stuffer-sized nuggets of legal comedy genius. Whenever we lawyers trudge exhaustedly bound energetically out of bed in the morning, the thing that keeps us going is the hope that maybe, someday, we can be responsible for creating something as wonderful as one of these masterpieces (advance warning — legal mastery can sometimes involve “colorful” language). We can’t be sure, but we think this might be the most comprehensive array of legal humor ever assembled in one place: Continue reading the full story . . . »

Jesse Saivar

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Q: I wrote a script based on my grandfather’s service in World War II. It’s obviously very personal. We’ve got a filmmaker whom we really like who’s interested in optioning it. I think this guy will do a great job, but my grandfather is still alive and I just want to make sure his image and story are going to be protected. I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it but thought I’d check with you guys…

A: Every writer’s script is that writer’s baby and, to a person, they’re almost all concerned that some producer is going to acquire their script and turn it from Gone with the Wind to Gone in 60 Seconds (the Nic Cage version). The problem is, every producer is afraid they’re going to acquire a script and have some obnoxious screenwriter chirping in their ear telling them how to make the movie (producer’s generally think screenwriters should be kept in small, dark, smoky rooms filled only with coffee mugs and typewriters). Once screenwriters sell their scripts, they’re usually no longer involved, unless they have some right to do rewrites. Continue reading the full story . . . »

It’s the holiday season, and if your house is anything like ours, things are getting a little hectic. The latkes are burning on the stove, the dog ate a sprig of mistletoe and now someone needs to drive it to the expensive vet that’s open on weekends and holidays, and…err…well, we can’t identify a single piece of Kwanzaa paraphernalia to build a joke around. Sorry.

Anyhow, we figure that you’re probably so busy these days — what with all that last-minute holiday shopping (still not too late to get us that ShoeDini we wanted!), dealing with visiting in-laws, and covering for all of your co-workers while they’re on vacation (not that we’re bitter) — you haven’t taken any time to treat yourself. Well, that’s why you have us.

We don’t want to give away what we’re giving you for Christmahanukwanzakah (it’s ecumenical), but we thought you deserved a little early holiday joy — in the form of what might be the greatest piece of legal correspondence in history (with special thanks to the rabid self-flagellating masochists Cleveland sports fans at ’64 and Counting)… Continue reading the full story . . . »

Ken Basin

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Time for a teen years confession.

For about two years, starting on August 25, 1997, my life had about four principal components: sleep, eat, school, GoldenEye. For the uninitiated, GoldenEye was a first-person shooter video game for the Nintendo 64, based on the James Bond film of the same name. And it. Was. Awesome. Widely regarded as one of the most successful, beloved, and influential video games of all time, GoldenEye helped prove that pale, unathletic teenagers and drunken frat boys had more in common than they ever previously dreamed — a shared joy in cartoonishly shooting their friends in the face.

Playing GoldenEye was its own reward, and I never expected any remuneration for those long, sleepless nights spent playing the game, devouring Oreos by the handful, and listening to Jay-Z’s Hard Knock Life album on repeat (also all true). But it seems I am, in fact, due a “thank you” card from a little-known company called Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen. That company — better known simply as Walther — manufactures the PPK pistol, best known as James Bond’s weapon of choice. And no doubt thanks in part to the efforts of obsessive gamers like myself, last month Walther received a rare product configuration trademark from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for the design of its iconic gun.

That’s right: the shape of this gun is now a registered trademark.

Traditionally, trademark protection is accorded to company and product names, logos, and slogans. Kodak — a company name. CyberShot — a product line. “The Best a Man Can Get” — a slogan. The distinctive green-rimmed Starbucks logo. In other words, all of the obvious signifiers of the source of a product or service. So the idea that a product can be its own trademark is definitely unintuitive. Luckily for Walther, though, the company hired lawyers. And as any lawyer will tell you, the law cares very little for your wounded intuition.

Continue reading the full story . . . »