Go Live!   Go Professional!

With the evolution of technology and new media, our industry is witnessing rapid changes and will most likely continue to experience a critical transformation in the way audiences choose to be entertained. During the next two years, live entertainment producers, record labels, artists, and venues will combine efforts with the Internet-broadcasting industry in extremely powerful ways. They will work side by side with the ultimate goal of delivering a great diversity of live-streamed performances to virtually every corner of the world. Moreover, by breaking geographical boundaries, this technology will provide viewers with immediate access to an unimaginable range of world-class shows.  At the same time, artists will be able to receive standing ovations like never before surrendering to their performances from anywhere in the five continents. Nevertheless, it is important to understand that the advancement of online broadcasting will not reduce event attendance and ticket sales; on the contrary, it seems to me that the amount of live entertainment productions will increase due to the evolution of this technology and the resulting growth of worldwide demand.

Many online businesses have shown great interest in developing reliable platforms to help the industry move forward with this idea. However, for this type of innovative ventures to flourish, business executives need to pay close attention to potential legal restrictions.

Entertainment and media lawyer Gordon Firemark specializes in the fields of theater, film, television, music, and new media. In a series of podcasts and interviews, Firemark has shared valuable thoughts on how to address legal issues that may arise from the creation of businesses involved with video streaming.

During an interview that was done for the online video marketing guide ReelSEO, Gordon Firemark explained that media content producers need to take the appropriate precautions to ensure that their products are not infringing copyrights and trademarks. Apparently, there are many entrepreneurs who have the ability to rapidly achieve financial success by developing new ideas that involve Internet distribution. However, they fail to focus on the legal aspects of the content they provide. Consequently, these entrepreneurs typically end up in court, having to deal with arduous lawsuits that will eventually ruin their capital investment and force them to shut down. For instance, companies like MP3.com, ivi.tv, and Veoh have been sued for copyright infringement and forced to spend an unconceivable amount of money in lawsuits.

Permissions, clearances, and licenses are crucial concepts that need to be thoroughly understood when working with intellectual property as one of the key elements of an online company. After choosing the adequate attorney, it is important to carefully examine if the company needs to acquire appropriate authorization before formally starting its activities. Furthermore, an attorney will help the company negotiate deals and ensure that permissions are clearly recorded and based on the precise requirements of the business’ plans and goals.

ReelSEO’s contributor Grant Crowell, who is also known for consulting and developing in the online marketing space, consistently addresses the subject of legal implications for online video. Last year, he interviewed Daliah Sapper, intellectual property and Internet law attorney, who very clearly explained that in most lawsuits there’s a mix of copyright and trademark infringement issues, defamation, and right of publicity. When discussing the chances of getting sued for utilizing music, artwork and movies that belong to other people, Sapper argued that copyright holders “can get a minimum of $750 up to $150,000 in statutory damages […] and can also get attorney’s fees and punitive damages.” Sapper also discussed that companies that work with intellectual property on a regular basis, such as those that deal with derivative works, need to rely on the experience of an attorney for reviewing the nuances of the licensing terms.

Lastly, during another ReelSEO interview, attorney David Michail, who specializes in new media, advertising and marketing law shed some light on how online publishers can limit their liability when copyright infringement arises. Here’s when The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) comes into play. With the DMCA “publishers enjoy the safe harbor immunity for essentially being a transient platform for other people’s activities”, whereas video producers can have an effective solution for removing their content when infringement is involved.

According to David Michail, there are still several aspects of the DMCA that need to be revised. The Internet community is evolving so rapidly that it’s virtually impossible to cover all the issues that may arise. However, this shouldn’t be seen as a negative effect. Gordon Firemark very wisely argued: “if we react instantly to every little trend, we would be spending a lot more of our time and energy dealing with that than with actually getting stuff done”.

The Internet is still full of wonderful opportunities; as entertainment entrepreneurs, we should be spending our time monetizing these opportunities with both audacity and responsibility.

Sources:

Exploring Legal Issues & Ramifications with Web Video Today: Podcast

http://www.reelseo.com/exploring-legal-ramifications-web-video-overcome/

©2008-2011 ReelSEO.com Online Video Guide

Legal Issues With Online Video For Business – Understanding The Basics http://www.reelseo.com/legal-video-overview-saper/

©2008-2011 ReelSEO.com Online Video Guide

Legal Guide to Online Video: What Web Video Publishers Need to Know http://www.reelseo.com/legal-video-publishing/

©2008-2011 ReelSEO.com Online Video Guide

Entertainment Law Update Podcast – Episode 3

http://www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/2009/07/entertainment-law-update-episode-3-bloggers-journalism-defamation/

© 2009-2011 Gordon P. Firemark