We are:
- A global firm that offers media and entertainment clients a wealth of resources to meet their needs, locally and globally.
- A multidisciplinary group of lawyers in offices throughout our worldwide network with experience that enables us to tailor our advice to each client in matters that include content-related concerns, transactions and corporate issues, data protection and privacy, intellectual property, government regulation, labor and employment, and litigation. Whether measured in volume of work, quality and range of clients or the scale and complexity of matters handled, Reed Smith ranks among the leading media and entertainment law practices in the world.
Our experience:
- Spans all aspects of media law, including digital and new media licensing, production, finance, regulatory, litigation and corporate-commercial transactions. Our digital media team members are leaders in the field, having assisted interactive and digital marketing and advertising companies, content providers and licensors with advice in connection with affiliate, publisher and partnership agreements, digital content licensing, syndication, distribution and many other related deals.
- The digital marketing, advertising and content deals we have documented have involved lead-generation agreements, referral agreements, advertising supported revenue generating deals, product placement, CAN-SPAM compliance, digital rights management for video, music, and games and we work with many of the leading studios, labels, social networking sites, and online music companies.
The issues we counsel on include, but are not limited to:
- The convergence of new and competitive technologies and solutions.
- The constantly evolving regulatory environment and emergence of new marketing channels and technology platforms.
- The increasingly global nature of marketing requiring multi-jurisdictional compliance with data protection and privacy regimes.
- The increasing attention to behavioral and targeted marketing tools, often inconsistent across national boundaries.
- The wide disparities in the laws and regulations that apply to advertising and promotions such as sweepstakes and contests.
- The challenges faced by lead generating, email marketing and digital media companies confronted by 'opt in', 'opt out', 'double authentication' and a host of other mechanisms, each preferred by differing regulators in differing jurisdictions.
- The escalated need to stay up-to-date with research and development.
- The wide array of issues that arise from employee use of digital media.
- The need for increasingly global, requiring practical, effective approaches to satisfy legal requirements while helping to facilitate sales and generate revenue, not increase costs or a patchwork operational quilt with decreased efficiency.
- The securities and regulatory issues affected by social media
- The data privacy and security enforcement and protection issues inherently impacted by social media.
Our digital media experience is in the following platforms:
- Multi platform digital distribution
- Procurement and licensing
- Television Platforms
- Mobile/Wireless/Handheld
- Digital and interactive advertising
- Web and application development
- Online gaming and virtual reality
- Social music networks
- E-commerce
- Data protection
- Outsourcing
- Cinema
- Live Event Production and Recording
Why Reed Smith
- Our attorneys reflect well over a century of experience representing clients in virtually every facet of the interactive advertising and digital media and marketing industries - across a broad spectrum of disciplines.
- We have a formidable amount of practical experience that translates into effective, responsive, high quality legal service and representation and we have received numerous accolades. In 2009 alone, our technology and media capabilities accorded us a ranking of #1 in Media, Technology and Telecoms/Marketing and Advertising Transactions from US Legal 500 in 2009 and a #3 ranking in Media and Entertainment: Advertising (Transactional) (NY) in US Chambers 2009.
- Both Doug Wood and Joe Rosenbaum, partners in our Media and Entertainment group, were specifically cited for their experience, expertise and commitment to clients.
- Just as significantly, the BTI Client Relationship Scorecard, which ranks law firm-client relationships, ranked Reed Smith the #1 Client Relationship Leader in 2009.
- We have risen to national and international stature in large part because of its uncommon commitment to personal, high-level service, and the determination to build long-term, respectful and mutually beneficial relationships.