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Entertainment Law

This guide will help you navigate the research process for entertainment law.

Introduction

As in all projects, unless you are already knowledgeable about the topic area, it is best to start with introductory resources and then to consult more focused works; moving from secondary to primary resources.

Articles, books and government documents can provide you with an overview of your topic and help you think of search terms that you might not have thought of otherwise. They will also cite primary authorities such as statutes and case law. You can then use the primary sources cited in the secondary sources as a jumping off point to find other primary sources.

Study Aids

Westlaw Treatises

Entertainment & Intellectual Property Law

Summary

Content Highlights:

Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law discusses how intellectual property law protects entertainment-related intellectual property. It provides practical information by summarizing copyright, trademark, right of publicity, patent, common law copyright, trade secret, misappropriation, and "idea submissions" law.

  • Provides historical perspective on how intellectual property has treated creative properties in the past
  • Discusses historical, economic, political, and technological forces shaping intellectual properties helping you predict how laws may change
  • Discusses technological and economic forces shaping intellectual property law, helping you anticipate changes from technological and legal innovations
  • Appendices include relevant state and federal statutes and laws Updated Annually
  • Updated Annually

Author(s): Mark S. Lee

Film & Multimedia & the Law

Summary

Content Highlights:

Film and Multimedia and the Law (formerly titled How to Avoid Reel Legal Problems: A Film Making & Multimedia Legal Guide) provides a detailed legal guide for lawyers and non-lawyers encompassing legal issues surrounding filmmaking. It covers copyright, trademark, and all other intellectual property issues that may be encountered, such as legal issues surrounding scriptwriting, idea submission, defamation, right to privacy/publicity, and fair use in copyright. It explains the complex legal principles and illustrates them with compelling legal decisions that are illustrative and entertaining to read. Over 1,000 case citations are included. It also discusses the practical limitations imposed by intellectual property.

Author(s): James G. Sammataro

Lindey on Entertainment, Publishing & the Arts

Summary

Updated three times per year.

Content Highlights:

Lindey on Entertainment, Publishing, and the Arts, 3d, updated three times yearly, provides expert coverage of entertainment law, mass communications, and the arts. Includes state-of-the-art forms and detailed guidance for drafting agreements.

Author(s): Michael Landau

Lexis Treatises

Entertainment Law & Litigation

Features 

  • Analyzes the substantive law related to subjects that most frequently arise in entertainment litigation, including copyright, trademark, right of publicity, right of privacy and stalking, defamation and obscenity, anti-SLAPP, profit participation and audit claims, Talent Agency Act, employment law and insurance law 
  • Offers guidelines, tips, and recommendations on all of these topics from leading practitioners in the field 
  • Covers federal law, state specific law in California and New York, and international coverage of Canada and the U.K. 

Law Review Article Search

In addition to Bloomberg Law, Lexis, and Westlaw, the Law Library has several databases that specifically index and pull together scholarly legal publications, including:

CALI Lessons