How to Legally Protect Your Intellectual Property and Profit From It

IP (Intellectual Property) is a hot commodity right now in film, TV and new media projects. More projects are being greenlit being based off of existing source material than ever before making the person who holds the IP rights on a project more valuable than ever.  So, what exactly is IP and how do you make sure you legally protect it so you can reap the rewards if your project gets made?

IP can be demystified in an easy to understand manner. By taking simple early steps, you can make sure you keep the rights to your film, keep your personal assets safe if something goes wrong, and ultimately protect yourself to earn profits in the end.  While filmmaking is an art, selling it is a business. To that end it is important to know your legal rights and liabilities before you start dealing with folks who put the business in show business.

Attorneys Sankeetha Selvarajah and Steve Reich are here to talk you through it and get you prepped so you’re never left surprised at how much or how little your film stays yours.

Sankeetha Selvarajah brings over a decade of experience in business law, handling everything from incorporation to buy/sell agreements. She will guide you through the necessary process of choosing what entity to form, what state to form it in and how to draw it up so that you never risk your personal assets if something goes sideways.

Steve Reich has been practicing intellectual property for over 10 years. He’s also a professional actor, so he knows firsthand the challenges filmmakers face in trying to monetize their work. He will demystify what IP is and means to you and will leave you with a much better sense of what you’re facing and how to protect and profit off your film.

Stephen and Sankeetha will walk you through everything you need to know about incorporating your project. You will learn how to legally protect your film IP and the difference between patent, trademark, copyright and trade secrets. Stephen and Sankeetha will go over various contracts you need to protect your IP including Works Made for Hire, NDAs, Licensing Agreements, Trademark Assignments and Affiliate Referral Partnership Agreements. You'll get an in-depth primer on copyright and trademark, and you'll also get a hypothetical scenario on what you can do to protect yourself and your project. Finally, they'll teach you how you can profit from your IP. You'll have a clear path of understanding how to legally protect your IP early on all the way to the final stages of a project. 

"Stephen and Sankeetha make the legal side of filmmaking approachable in every way. Trying to navigate the corporations and contracts can make your head spin, but they make it simple and easy to navigate. I feel like I have the best setup for my project after learning from them."

- Ricardo F.