Foster Garvey’s Sports, Arts & Entertainment group has the experience, know-how and vision to help our clients navigate the unique business and legal environment in which they operate, build their personal brands, and shape their careers for long-term success on and beyond the playing field and the stage. We pride ourselves on being responsive, seeing the big picture and keeping abreast of rapidly evolving technology and other innovations affecting the industry.

Our group has the focus of a boutique firm, with the support of a full-service firm behind us. In addition to advising our clients on sports, arts and entertainment matters we are able to help with trademark and copyright registration and brand protection, formation of corporations and joint ventures and other matters related to launching a business, as well as handle a wide range of other legal issues including tax, estate planning, securities, immigration, labor and employment and criminal matters. The Foster Garvey Sports, Arts & Entertainment team also offers substantial experience in connection with the development of sports facilities. With offices on both coasts as well as in Beijing and industry contacts worldwide, we are ideally situated to serve our clients’ needs.

We represent a diverse array of clients, from professional athletes and individual artists, writers, musicians, scripted and unscripted television stars and filmmakers, to companies involved in film and television production and distribution, publishing, musical recording and distribution and cutting-edge online entertainment services.

Sports Team Representation
Foster Garvey has substantial experience representing prominent professional sports teams and their ownership, as well as coaches, announcers, broadcasters, athletes, agents and corporate sponsors, in disputes before arbitration panels, federal or state courts and agencies, and in mediation. We service our sports clients in transactional and litigation matters to protect their interests in all personal, professional and business endeavors, including:

• • Endorsement agreements
  • Brand protection
  • Licensing and merchandising agreements
  • Copyright and trademark registration
  • Immigration and visas
  • Charitable activities
  • Tax and estate planning
  • Prenuptial, postnuptial and cohabitation planning
  • Privacy, publicity, defamation and social media
  • Domain name registration, privacy policies and terms of use
  • NCAA eligibility
  • Compliance and investigations
  • Various corporate matters including business formation

Sports Facility Development
Our firm is involved in nearly every phase of stadium and arena project development, including land use, planning, and zoning, real estate, construction, site selection, financing, and operation. We have drafted important legislation for major league professional sports facilities and defended it through appeals up to the United States Supreme Court. Our experience includes representing:

• • Development of major and minor league professional and college sports and multipurpose facilities
  • Lenders in financing major and minor league sports facilities
  • Public bodies in financing major and minor league sports facilities
  • Teams in development of their headquarters and practice facilities

We are experienced in negotiating and drafting core lease and development documents, as well as construction and consulting agreements. Foster Garvey attorneys are experienced with transportation and environmental remediation issues, preparing luxury suite and preferred-seat licenses, drafting legislation, serving as finance counsel, and working on sponsorship, signage and intellectual property rights matters.

Film
The clients of our film practice include actors, writers, producers, directors and production companies involved the in the development and production of domestic and international motion pictures distributed in all forms of media. Our services include:

• • Development and production agreements
  • Establishing production structures, including fund formation and private placements and offerings as well as individual Investor Agreements
  • Screenplay option and acquisition agreements
  • Life story rights agreements
  • Completion guarantees
  • Writer, director and producer agreements
  • Talent and crew agreements
  • Establishing and maintaining guild memberships
  • Rights clearance and release agreements
  • Location agreements
  • Product placement and integration agreements
  • Music licensing
  • Post-production agreements
  • Broadcast and cable television license and production agreements
  • Distribution agreements
  • First Amendment issues

Television
The clients of our Television practice include production companies, content distributors, and individual talent working in the traditional television and new media space. Examples of our services include negotiating numerous television-related agreements, including performer agreements and shopping agreements, licensing life-story rights, endorsements and digital distribution agreements.

Music
We represent Grammy-winning recording artists, songwriters, performers, producers and music supervisors, as well as independent record labels and music publishers, personal managers, business managers, talent agencies and music industry executives. Examples of our music and recording industry services include recording and distribution agreements, songwriting and publishing agreements, producer agreements, sampling and other clearance agreements, master use and synchronization licenses, touring and live event agreements, merchandising agreements and endorsements agreements.

Literary
The clients of our Literary practice include new and established authors, journalists, illustrators and a variety of independent magazine and online/new media publications. Our representation and advocacy on behalf of our literary clients includes making introductions to quality literary agents and publishers and the negotiation of agent representation agreements and print and digital publishing contracts. We also assist clients who elect to self-publish their works. Our representation of those clients includes assisting with the evaluation of third-party service providers and the negotiation of agreements between our clients and those providers.

We negotiate ancillary agreements such as those between author and illustrator and assist with identifying and engaging industry–specific publicists.

In conjunction with other areas of our entertainment practice, we assist clients with the licensing of subsidiary and ancillary rights, such as film, television, theater and merchandising rights, as well as pursuing new media opportunities for their works.

The books of our clients include memoirs and biographies, poetry collections, novels, cookbooks, self-help, spiritual and inspirational books, health and fitness books and children’s books.

For our content publisher clients, our services include rights clearances, contributor agreements and releases and publication and distribution arrangements.

Arts
The clients of our Arts practice include Broadway and off-Broadway actors, culinary professionals, dancers, photographers and designers, including fashion designers, interior designers, and furniture and houseware artisans. Our group's broad range of experience allows us to handle all of our arts clients' needs, including business formation, website terms of use and privacy policies, trademark and copyright registrations and negotiating and preparing an array of agreements including talent, merchandising, manufacturing, distribution, license, employment and consulting agreements.

Media
Our Media practice includes representation of production companies, magazine publishers, content developers and investors in various media platforms, as well as representation of individuals, including television personalities, radio broadcasters, bloggers and app developers. Examples of our media services include print and digital publishing contracts, development agreements, license agreements, services agreements, app and website terms of use and privacy policies, trademark and copyright registrations and negotiating and preparing investment documents.

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