Ahead of Connected Creativity’s mentoring session, the president International Association of Entertainment Lawyers (IAEL) addresses the need for special expertise in the negotiation of multi-platform licenses.
Multi-platform licensing is the industry’s answer to a variety of technological challenges and changes in viewer behaviour. But what is required to successfully negotiate multi-platform licenses?
Different multi-platform arrangements raise different issues. Is the license intended to tap as many revenue opportunities as possible for a particular programme, or is its purpose to enrich the program’s storyline and to add interactivity that fosters greater viewer engagement in a lean-forward world? The answer may impact on how exclusivity, windows and payment structures are negotiated.
What do “television,” “online,” ”computer” and “mobile” rights mean in a world in which one can access primetime programming from a website and display it on a phone or a tablet?
Time Warner’s launch of an app enabling its customers to access programming on their iPads has caused it to be targeted with cease and desist letters from the networks. Were iPad apps known when Time Warner negotiated its network carriage agreements? Regardless, are these apps within the scope of the rights as defined in those agreements?
New platforms are emerging on a regular basis and business models are quickly changing with them. As a result, attorneys negotiating these deals need to be more than just good lawyers. They need up-to-the-minute knowledge of technological and business developments, and they need to understand and anticipate how the changing environment is creating opportunities, and risks, for their clients.
Our mentoring session at Connected Creativity will focus on these issues and more in multi-platform licensing.
Jeff Liebenson of Liebenson Law is president of the International Association of Entertainment Lawyers. He is moderator and chairman of Doing Multi-Platform Business: Meet the Legal Experts at the Connected Creativity Forum at 16:15 today (Majestic, Marta room). Don’t miss it!
