Massachusetts Entertainment Forms - Ma Entertainment Law

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Massachusetts Entertainment FAQ Massachusetts Entertainment Law

What is entertainment law? 

Entertainment law generally encompasses industries involving motion pictures, television, music, publishing, and theatre. These industries have special economic and business considerations that involve nearly every area of law including copyright, trademark, trade secret, rights of privacy and publicity, securities, tax, tort, corporate law, labor law, constitutional law, international law, and so forth. The law of copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents each play a role in protecting creative rights.

The personal service agreement is a primary legal instrument in the entertainment industry. This agreement is negotiated between an artist and a company that manufactures, promotes, and distributes the artist's goods or services. The agreement often commits the artist to produce exclusively for one company for a certain period of time. Personal service agreements are often governed by statutes, and are often the subject of litigation because of the restrictions placed on the rights of artists to perform or create for other entities.

How are royalties earned and collected? 

A significant amount of income for entertainers can be acquired in the form of profits from a royalty agreement. The first step to a royalty agreement begins, for example, when a songwriter pens their original piece. From being produced in tangible form, the artist receives a copyright. The writer then may wish have their song exposed and published by a recording company. The songwriter will assign a copyright to a publisher who will market and promote the material. Those that wish to use the copyrighted material will then begin the process of establishing royalty agreements and be issued a license. The proceeds from the sales and use of the copyrighted material by anyone will then be required to pay royalties to the publisher which represents the writer selected.

Tips for Preparing Massachusetts Entertainment Forms

  1. Don’t opt into any oral entertainment agreements. Too often, individuals working in the entertainment business rely on oral deals. Even though this kind of contract is legally binding, using it as your legal tool might result in long-running disagreements because of provisions that could be overlooked during contract preparation.
  2. Be sure to control the drafting process. Even though you intend to go over the Massachusetts Entertainment Forms’s structure carefully before you sign it, it’s preferable to make several reviews to get. Then, apply the needed changes to the stipulations along the way. In this way, you’ll avoid the legal issues that might arise in the future, be it a entertainment contract or arts agreement.
  3. Make sure that each signer of the document gains their share. This can be achieved by inviting a third-party auditing consultant who will prepare an review report. For instance, they can verify whether an musician gets the right amount of royalties coming from a film’s broadcasting. However, to prevent auditing, make sure you add proper wording in the contract concerning all financial matters from the outset. You can get all the required documents to close the deal in the entertainment industry in the US Legal Forms online library, bundled with information about how to put together Massachusetts Entertainment Forms as well as other papers.
  4. Determine clear terms on how to end the contract. Before preparing Massachusetts Entertainment Forms, all parties in the contract must spell out their expectations of how they prefer to terminate it. If you work, for instance, with a third-party agent, ensure they don’t have the legal right to extend the agreement on your behalf.