Entertainment lawyers are most noted for negotiating and closing film/TV deals, music deals or both. The public presumes, correctly, these types of deals require a solid foundation in contract law. However, a good entertainment counsel also needs to understand other areas of law. For example:

• Intellectual Property. Entertainment products are intellectual property, covered by the law of copyrights and trademarks. Scripts, treatments and screenplays are literary works, movies are dramatic works and underscores are musical works, all covered by copyright law. Brands, merchandise, logos and taglines are all covered by trademark law. Counsel needs a solid understanding of moral rights, infringement, fair dealing (in Canada), fair use (in America), parody and satire, public domain, and music licenses (mechanical, synchronization, master use, public performance, and neighbouring rights). Often, counsel is asked to provide a legal “Chain of Title” opinion, which requires a solid understanding of copyright law.
• Rights of Publicity and Privacy. The film/TV and music industries trade on the images and reputations of celebrities. This involves rights of publicity. Counsel needs to understand how such rights work and what value to place on these rights depending on what media and for what duration of time they are exploited in. Biographies, biopics and reality shows trade on stories about the private lives of individuals. Therefore, counsel needs to understand privacy laws – knowing when a life rights agreement is necessary or not.
• Defamation (Libel and Slander). References are often made to historic events and people, dead and living. Counsel needs a solid understanding of defamation law in order to understand when a reference is legally permitted or when one crosses the line and becomes potentially defamatory, before that reference is publicized.
• Insurance (General Liability and Errors and Omissions [“E&O”]). Knowledge of insurance law covering production offices, sets and locations is required. Moreover, counsel is often asked to “clear” a production so it can qualify for E&O insurance coverage by rendering an opinion that complies with the underwriter’s requirements. 
• Corporate and Finance. Counsel is often required to render extensive corporate opinions to the financial institutions that provide funding for film/TV projects. This requires counsel to have a solid foundation in corporate and commercial law.
• Employment and Labour. Film sets are big operations and hire a lot of people, including cast and crew. Most cast and crew are unionized and/or represented by guilds. Therefore, to properly represent a production company in the making of a film or TV series, counsel needs to thoroughly understand employment and labour law in all of the jurisdictions that the production is being filmed in. This includes being familiar with the provisions of all relevant collective agreements.
• Real Estate. All productions need to have a production office and be on a set, and most use outside locations as well. Therefore, it is important for counsel to have a solid understanding of leasing and tenant law.
• Tax. The budgets of most films made in Canada, especially in BC, depend on eligibility for provincial and federal tax credits, and music deals often depend on accessing grants and subsidies. Counsel needs to be able to structure deals to maximize access to all funding sources.