Entertainment Legal Questions

It will depend on the type of contract and its terms. Generally, most states allow a person three days to cancel a deal due to "buyer's remorse." However, if the other party has already performed some or all of its obligations under the contract, you may be stuck with the deal. In some cases, you can cancel the contract by paying for the work/service already provided and any harm the other party suffers as a result of your backing out.... Read More

As long as it happens only at home, infrequently, and the child does not become intoxicated, it is usually legal. However, if this happens frequently, occurs in other places, and/or the child becomes intoxicated, the parents can and will be arrested for child abuse, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, etc. FYI: statistics show that many children who are allowed or encouraged to drink alcohol or take other intoxicants at a young age have problems with excessive drinking or drug use as adults.... Read More

If you are talking about a tournament of an online game, you have set your business up backwards. You should have been asking this question before spending a year on the website development. You must obtain the appropriate trademark and copyright licensing from the owner (which may be the developer but also may be multiple parties). If you operate without such licensing and you are deemed to have willfully violated their copyright you could be subject to up to $150,000 in damages (per violation), plus attorney fees and costs; and if you are found to have willfully violated their trademark the actual damages could be tripled, plus attorney fees and costs. You need the assistance of a qualified intellectual property attorney to move forward without incurring substantial liability.... Read More

Consent given on camera is often considered valid consent to be filmed. However, it may not be consent as to where, for what purposes and in what ways, and for how long you may use the footage. It is best to spell all these things out in a written consent form. The person should be given time to read the form and carefully consider it. It is most valid if the print is reasonably large, the wording is clear, and the agreement is not too long. That way, people on location can read the form, know what it says, and either agree or disagree. If there is any form of coercion, the agreement may not be valid. For example, if the person has been offered a discount on the car in exchange for the endorsement on the spot, then the permission granted may not be valid. Also be aware that if person has a talent agent or is in a talent union, the permission they give may be superseded by other contracts and requirements. Your best bet is to work with an entertainment lawyer on this.... Read More

One of the main things you need to do this is permission from the game company in writing, because you will be using the name of the game, which is their trademark. If you are running the tournament in a rented space, you will need to have whatever zoning and licensing is required to run an event in that space. That is why it would be best to rent a space that is already zoned and insured to hold events, such as a convention center. Much of what you need to know, you will learn by doing.... Read More

As the host, you would be liable for everything illegal or harmful that happened to anyone. That includes violating state and local laws, failing to obtain required permits, providing alcohol to minors, failing to work with the utility companies to provide additional electricity and garbage service, failure to meet mandatory hygiene standards for restrooms, dealing with the inevitable illegal drug use, fights, sexual assaults, fires, drunk driving by those who attended the event, charges by the owner of the building, parking violations, etc., etc., etc. Some of these are minor violations and some are felonies with serious time in prison.... Read More

Contractually, this is a tough one because you've waited too late. You may need to see what the other portion of funds retained will be after missing the deadline, because they don't have a contractual obligation to you. From a practical standpoint you can threaten to sue, but you'll likely not get very far after the business consults with its attorney. Most times, you'll spend more money trying to get out of it than you would foregoing it. The key is to call and reason with them. Talk to the manager and explain your situation, why you're late, and ask if there are any other remedies. Don't verbally or orally concede any wrongdoing, but probe as much as possible about possible workarounds or options. A suggestion is to make is clear that you're active consumers and that you know how to use Yelp, the BBB, and etc. Therefore, you'll exercise your truthful reviews to deter future venue reservations. You, of course, should not make any untrue statements.... Read More

Assuming that you are an adult, you signed the contact and now you are bound by it. Talk to the other party and see if they are willing to return more of your deposit. If they can find another couple to rent the facility and the services on the date(s) you contracted for, they may be willing to return more of the deposit. However, they are entitled to keep whatever the contract calls for.... Read More

I will need to see the signed written release. Can you please send it to me by return e-mail. The terms and conditions of the release should be spelled out specifically in the release document, or reasonably implied from the terms used therein. Only then can anyone determine whether or not you are permitted by the release to use the released content in a different usage than originally contemplated.... Read More

Downloading child pornography is illegal and the penalties are severe. Just because someone says the models are all of age, don't believe it or rely on it. If you think a model is underage, erase the image immediately and don't go back to that website. If you are pretty certain the model is underage, contact the police and report the website.... Read More

Usually a contract can be cancelled because of impossibility. If they are renovating the place, they cannot hold weddings. To avoid any legal complications, they have asked you to sign the cancellation and they will send your refund. You have plenty of time to find a different venue. Places like wedding halls have to perform renovations every now and then to keep the place looking nice and also to keep up with building code and fire safety requirements. You might think you want your wedding to take place in a construction site, but that is not very pleasant. Take my word for it, I have stayed at hotels and eaten at restaurants and such where renovations were being done. It is a very bad experience. Do you want the sound of hammers and electric drills during your reception? I stayed at a hotel and convention center where the hammers started at 6:30 in the morning. Do you want your guests to have to walk far to a bathroom? Do you want areas blocked off with plastic sheeting? What on earth are you thinking? There are hundreds of other places to hold a wedding on that very same day. Being successfully married requires being an adult, including being flexible, understanding the normal disappointments of life and being able to change plans. If this wedding hall cancellation is too difficult for you to handle, take it as a sign that you are not prepared for marriage.... Read More

When you create an original work of art and fix it in a permanent medium, copyright protection is immediately attached to the work. However, if that design includes work created by another person or company (work that is either copyrighted or trademarked), you will need prior written approval to copy that work and then to distribute it as part of your design. I'm not sure what you mean by "free to use policy."... Read More

This is a vague question and more details would be helpful. It sounds like you made a payment while aware of the terms of the deal. To me, it sounds like you will be held to those terms, since you knew what they were and made a payment. Also, you made the payment knowing what you were paying for. But I am not sure what you are saying. Did you pay money to the school organization for materials you needed as a member of the organization? Or did you act on behalf of the school organization and buy materials from an outside store or vendor? Usually if a person is buying items on a no refunds basis, then those are the terms if notice of those terms was given, unless there are some other circumstances, such as if the items were not delivered in usable condition.... Read More

An attorney can not charge both an hourly fee and a contingency fee unless this was specifically spelled out in the Letter of Engagement signed by the client. Under a contingency agreement, the attorney subtracts his/her percentage (plus expenses if that is what the parties agreed to) and the client keeps the rest. FYI: if you already have a signed agreement with the attorney that spells out the form of reimbursement for the attorney, he/she has no obligation to agree to another form of payment just because you have changed your mind.... Read More

It sounds okay, but you should post the rules clearly. You may also want to state that the winner must be present at the time of raffle. You may also want to limit it to one prize per person or per household. Also, you may want to have insurance and a waiver for the event in case anyone is injured. It would be easy to break an arm in a potato sack race.... Read More

It depends on whether you represent the Plaintiff or the Defendant. And, the nature of the infringement allegations would give you insight regarding which documents to request. If you represent the Defendant, you should look to the elements of infringement ownership of a valid copyright and copying of protected elements of the work. So, the first document to request is the registration certificate, any assignments of the copyright, and copies of any contracts with the author that may give the Plaintiff standing to bring the lawsuit. If the work were registered after the alleged infringement, the Plaintiff loses valuable remedies statutory damages and award of attorney's fees. And, a prerequisite to filing an infringement claim is registration of the work. Next, I'd probably ask for documents related to damages. I would want to see if the alleged infringement caused the Plaintiff to lose sales. If I represented Plaintiff, I'd certainly want to see the Defendant's financial records to determine whether disgorging profits or statutory damages were a better remedy. Of course, every case will have unique facts. Thoroughly reading and understanding the complaint will help you determine which documents to request. Also, answers to interrogatories will help you discover documents that may not be apparent at the early stages. Hope this helps.... Read More

If a person is paying to attend such an event, in many states this meets the definition of prostitution. In addition, in some states it is illegal to have sex with anyone other than one's married spouse. In almost all locations, it is illegal to run a sex business without being specifically licensed to do so. A contract can never be formed to do something illegal. Therefore, this contract is most surely void.... Read More

Just based on what you’ve said is your goal, this can be done in the recording contract.  However, I will severely caution against drafting this on your own if you aren’t an attorney.  It is very easy to overlook a necessary provision or leave ambiguity where detail is needed.  Make the investment and have an attorney draft the agreement.  Also, you say “your artist” – with that, I’m assuming you are the manager.  If you don’t have a management agreement in place, I would suggest you have a one drafted and in place as well.... Read More