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attorneys' fees.
Horst said The Academy takes its
copyrights and trademarks very seriously,
and will protect its intellectual property
vigilantly.
Horst has worked on other cases in
the entertainment and music industries,
including representing the father of
a young hip-hop star who signed a
management contract for his son under
which they needed to give up half of
his royalties in perpetuity. When the
singer's first album went platinum, they
sued and reached a settlement with the
management company.
The growth of the film and music
industries in Atlanta means that Horst's
firm gets regular inquiries from people
looking for legal help with entertainment
related issues.
"The cases tend to be a little bit more
high profile and that can be of interest to
people," Horst said.
London firm Marriott Harrison has
done work in film and television since
it was founded in 1985, according to
partners Tony Morris and Jonathan
Pearce. They represent producers
and creative talent in the origination,
development, production and
exploitation of feature films as well
as television and other programming.
The firm's corporate department also
does merger and acquisition cases and
works with those financing investment
in television production and production
companies.
Morris said he found one recent
case particularly interesting because it
challenged him intellectually. The case,
in which Marriott Harrison represented
Pattinson Productions Limited in its deal
with All3Media ­ the United Kindgom's
top independent television, film and
digital production and distribution
company ­ involved combining first look
(an agreement in which a producer or
studio agrees to pay a development fee
for the right to have the first look at new
material before others in the industry
get to see it) and distribution in one
agreement.
"I have not previously been asked to
combine first look and distribution within
such a complex commercial matrix," he
said. "It took a lot of detailed drafting,
and I was very proud of the finished
result."
Marriott Harrison's clients include
RSA Films, a company owned by Ridley
Scott, the film director and producer
responsible for films including "Alien,"
"Thelma & Louise" and "Black Hawk
Down." RSA Films is a company
Scott created many years ago, before
he went to Hollywood, that produces
commercials, music videos and some
documentaries and other commissions for
U.K. broadcasters. Morris advises RSA
Films on these projects.
The firm also represents a number of
clients in the music industry including
Warnock and others.
Morris, a big music and film fan,
loves his work. "I enjoy working with
creative people," he said.
For more information on Primerus
firms specializing in entertainment law,
visit primerus.com.