Media and entertainment in South East
Cripps Pemberton Greenish
The media and entertainment team at Cripps Pemberton Greenish is recognised as a prominent force in the advertising and marketing sectors, and is known for advising high-profile clients on both corporate and commercial matters. The team also regularly advises companies in their dealings with media agencies and PR consultancies. Commercial specialist Pete Kenyon heads the team along with Nigel Stanford, a corporate expert with significant in-house experience in the advertising sector.
Irwin Mitchell
Irwin Mitchell's media and entertainment team includes sector specialists Aurelia Butler-Ball and Thomas Barnard, as well as team lead Stuart Padgham, a noted expert in commercial contracts. Catering for social influencers and music industry figures, the practice also advises clients in the film, advertising and digital fields. The team handles complex matters such as estates management and exploitation rights, while clients can also benefit from the firm's disputes expertise (with an emphasis on employment issues) as well its strong track record in risk and reputation management.
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Testimonials
‘The team is very commercial – they look for practical solutions‘.
‘Always available as a sounding board‘.
Key clients
Lady Leshurr
Rose and Rosie
Conan Doyle Estate Limited
The Sports Sphere
Knee Deep In Life
DK Music Management
Planet Eat Media
Rev Fitness
Hologramica 1 Y
Estate of Lee Millar
Work highlights
- Advised the Conan Doyle Estate on a lucrative deal with Baby Cow Productions (owned by Henry Normal and Steve Coogan) to produce a dramatized TV series based on the Brigadier Gerard stories.
- Assisted well known grime artist Lady Leshurr on a range of high-profile commercial arrangements including adverting deals with Olay and Captain Morgan.
- Advised hologram company Hologramica on an agreement for their products and services for the global Whitney Houston Hologram Tour.
Maier Blackburn LLP
Representing clients such as the Tolkien Estate and Agatha Christie Limited, the media and entertainment team at Maier Blackburn LLP has an outstanding reputation in the publishing industry. Its expertise is frequently deployed in relation to TV, cinema and merchandising, an area in which its knowledge of the US film industry is particularly beneficial. Specialisms include trademark violations, cross-border copyright, domain name disputes and a niche interest in academic theses. The team also handles privacy and libel cases covering a multitude of publicity concerns. Respectively, co-leads Steven Maier and Cathleen Blackburn are veterans of contentious and non-contentious cases.
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Key clients
The Tolkien Estate
Agatha Christie Limited
Simon & Schuster, Inc
Watership Down Enterprises
Oxford University Press
Cochrane Library
Association of Learned Professional and Society Publishers (ALPSP)
John Davies T/A ‘Jigletoes’
Wills & Trusts Chartered Financial Planners
Work highlights
- Acted for a children’s toys and accessories supplier trading as ‘Jigletoes’ in the recovery of a domain name
through the World Intellectual Property Organisation arbitration procedure. - Represented Wills & Trusts Chartered Financial Planners in a dispute with a competitor concerning copyright in marketing, seminar materials and passing off.
- Acted for the Tolkien Estate in a claim against an international pro-life organisation. This concerned the misuse of J R R Tolkien’s image and quotations from his works in advertising for a convention run by the organisation in Italy.
Moore Law
Moore Law places a significant emphasis on the digital, media, and sport sectors, handling commercial and IP issues for various sector clients. A key aspect of the practice is its work with new media clients, advising social media influencers, e-sports and YouTube personalities on commercial contracts, merchandising, and IP matters. Founding partner Tris Moore works with several key media agencies, while head of digital Scott Appleton is a key contact for new media clients. Consultant solicitor Mike Townley is notable for his work with sports clients, regularly advising in relation to broadcasting rights.
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Stevens & Bolton LLP
Stevens & Bolton LLP, which provides a full service offering to media sector clients, has strong track records in both contentious and non-contentious work. Specifically, the firm is known for its experience in the publishing sector where it advises on IP litigation and the licensing of IP rights. Solicitor-advocate Tom Lingard heads the practice.
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Boyes Turner
Mark Blunden leads the media and entertainment team at Boyes Turner, which has specific expertise in the publishing sector, counting major news outlets and trade journals as key clients. Key areas of work include advice on marketing software, CRM systems, programmatic advertising and the sale of inventory. Bill Gornall-King is notable for his experience with rights issues regarding media articles, photography and reputations. The firm also handles contentious matters in the High Court/IPEC where Stephen Baker acts on issues such as IP infringement and copyright disputes.
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Key clients
Auto Trader
Wayfair
Guardian News & Media
Inter Public Group
Censhare
Chartered Institute of Journalists
Bossland GmbH
Project Audio Visual
Harvey Water Softeners
SONOS
Blake Morgan LLP
Publishing ethics specialist Jill Bainbridge leads the south east media and entertainment team at Blake Morgan LLP. Known for its work in the charity, retail and leisure sectors, it also pursues issues of unfair competition and reputation management. Partner Simon Stokes is notable for his expertise in social media and copyright, particularly as it relates to art. Ben Evans specialises in trade mark prosecution, brand protection, IP litigation (arising from social media use) and defamation. The firm's client base features a number of significant overseas businesses and other law firms.
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Key clients
Kerry Group PLC
Charles Tyrwhitt
Red Paddle Company
Wiggle
Feelunique
Be Wiser Insurance Services Limited
Nokia
Too Faced Cosmetics
Nosy Crow Limited
CVS PLC
Work highlights
- Advised publisher Nosy Crow in relation to various IP disputes.
- Advised a leading gallery in relation to copyright in an installation.
- Advised a leading university in relation to copyright infringement and passing off issues.
Howes Percival LLP
With significant experience in publishing and TV, the media and entertainment team at Howes Percival LLP is particularly known for its work in copyright, defamation and privacy disputes. Coordinated by Matthew Talbot, it also features James Howarth, a contentious specialist with representative experience in both the Intellectual Property Office and High Court. More broadly, the firm covers legal issues such as passing-off, image rights and a broad spectrum of trademark issues. Jenna Bruce, renowned for her expertise in commercial areas, is recommended for the drafting of rights agreements. Vicki Howe is another name to note.
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Testimonials
‘James Howarth and Vicki Howe are a good team with whom I work regularly. They have a good knowledge of the media and entertainment field and provide an excellent service to their varied clients‘.
Key clients
Time Out
Quarto Group plc
Lion Hudson
Goldstein Music
Sounds Like Publishing
DOLCE Music Limited
Work highlights
- Represented lottery winner Gareth Bull in obtaining a final injunction restraining publication of a ‘kiss and tell’ memoir and damages for invasion of privacy.
- Advised a major publishing house on rights issues, royalties and copyright.
- Advised a leading provider of health services on restraining various publishers of defamatory comments.