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Perfecting Film Financiers' Liens in Copyrights
Financiers — perhaps as much as producers, directors and actors — are responsible for film industry successes. Without lenders and investors, films cannot be made. Typically, financiers provide funding in return for proceeds from the film, that is secured by a lien in favor of the financier. The lien usually functions as collateral against the borrower's repayment of the loan and compliance with other obligations under the financing agreement. If the borrower fails to meet its loan repayment obligations, the financier is entitled to foreclose on the collateral.
Unlike lending and investing in more traditional industries where there is a multiplicity of existing assets, liens in film financings frequently center on the underlying work's copyright, which is the crux of the film's value and frequently the only asset of importance to secure against. And given that financing is necessary at the incipiency of a film project, typically a copyright application on an as-yet unfinished script is all that exists.
Unfortunately, the law on how to perfect a lien in a copyright application is foggy at best. This article sketches out pitfalls of the current process for perfecting a lien on a copyright application, and potential steps that a financier may take to help perfect and protect a film investment.
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Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.