QUESTION
Am I committing fraud if my wife is my agent, I send emails from her with consent, under a pseudonym she chose?
Asked on Apr 06th, 2013 on Entertainment Law - California
More details to this question:
This may appear a challenging query but for the right lawyer it breaks down into simple step by step questions, that lead to one outcome. In short, I am being sued by a writer-for-hire that I drafted in work on a screenplay of mine, and here is why: Brief UK backstory: As a British actor moving to LA, it was impossible to find an LA agent, unless your prospective new LA agent receives an 'industry referral' from another agent, most likely back in Britain. But you can't get an agent in Britain without an industry referral from. It's a well known catch 22 and many actors find perfectly legal ways to beat the system, without lying on the casting couch. In the UK I therefore set up a small primarily web-based talent agency in full compliance with UK business law - let's call it 'Enterprise Management' - to assist with 'referring' this actor to Los Angeles based agents, and thus getting on the ladder. It worked out just fine, and I moved to LA with a new agent in hand, because they were happy to review my demo reel and resume only because another agency had 'referred' me, and once they saw it they loved my work. Weird I know, but I don't make the showbiz rules.The USA story and legal questions:In LA I met and married my now wife. I asked her if she would like to become an agent for Enterprise Management, because I wanted someone who truly believed in my writing skills to submit my screenplays to producers. She said yes, because she of all people believed in me. What better agent than one's own wife. Is it illegal for a writer's wife to also be his literary agent? Is it illegal for a literary agent who lives mainly in the USA to work/telecommute for a company set up in the UK? And send emails from my wife’s email address?
2 ANSWERS
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You can do it, but your wife may have disclosure obligations to her clients (i.e., that you're her husband, and the owner or the talent agency, not just a "client" of the talent agency). I think that should not be a problem, since many entertainment agencies operate like that.
Answered on Apr 11th, 2013 at 10:42 PM
Susan Marie Basko
You are asking the wrong questions and coming to the wrong conclusions. It is illegal for anyone to operate as a talent agent in Los Angeles unless they are licensed by the State of California as a talent agent. Therefore, since your wife was in California and operating as if she was a licensed agent when she was not, she was operating illegally. This generally means the contract with the writer is void and your wife is not entitled to any agent fee. If she was paid a fee, she will likely have to repay it. You may, however, owe the writer pay for his time, but the essence of it being a work-for-hire contract is probably void. That means the writer most likely owns copyright on the writing he did at your request, since the work for hire contract is most likely void ab initio, or from the beginning. Also, any other contracts formed by your wife as a purported agent are also likely void, and any agent fees she made will likely need to be repaid. Once again, to operate as a talent agent in California, one must be licensed as a talent agent in the State of California. Also, as far as sending email from someone else's email account to fraudulently induce someone else into agreeing to a contract, of course that is illegal and a fraud. It sounds like you need a lawyer, but you would have to actually listen to the lawyer for their advice to be helpful.
Answered on Apr 08th, 2013 at 5:49 PM