Entertainment Law in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Entertainment Law a) Vick has just won £7million on the National Lottery and is interested in starting a music production business. He approaches you for advice, on which type of business to start. Advise Vick on the various types or forms of business structure in the UK and outline their respective advantages and disadvantages. Which type of business would you advise Vick to go for and why? Vick can start various different forms of businesses with the capital amount that he is willing to invest. In the United Kingdom the main types of businesses that are usually started by investors are that of a sole trader, a partnership, a public or a private limited company. As a sole trader Vick can invest his own capital and set up a business from scratch. As there is no such legal requirement of any sort to maintain audited account books, Vick will be spared from this haggle. Yet he will still need to pay the income tax that will be charged on his earnings and so it would be advisable to keep updated account books for tax purposes. The advantages of this form of business would be that this business form is easy to establish and there are no legalities involved in setting up. Once the business is set up Vick can start trading as early as possible. An overwhelming advantage of being a sole trader is that one is not required to answer to anyone as they are the sole owners. Decisions regarding the company can be made quickly and efficiently. However, being a sole trader can have a number of disadvantages such as a lack of collective minds. The owner may not have sufficient experience or knowledge to run the business and perhaps being in a partnership would help him. Being a single owner of a business can greatly affect the social life of a person as a holiday would mean a closed office. Economies of scale are also difficult to achieve and cost of production is comparatively high. As far as debt is concerned the owner will be liable for any debt that is incurred by the business and personal property can be sold off to pay off the debts. If Vick decides to go into a partnership he will have to invest less capital into the starting of the business but as such the profits from the business will also have to be shared equally amongst the partners. The variety in terms of minds in the ownership will help to enhance the business through the integration of qualities from all partners. Work can be shared and so can be the liabilities of the business. If the business does incur debt in a partnership there are fewer chances of personal assets being sold off. Once again this business form has downsides of which the first would be the lack of freedom in decision making. Contracts are also required to maintain legal constraints on the business and the profit division terms need to be defined. And if one partner wishes to either retire from the business or expires the partnership is defunct. As far as a public limited company is concerned, it will allow shareholders to have limited liability in the business and raising capital is easier as an additional issuance of debenture and shares in the market can manage this feat. A great advantage of this type of business is that it allows the hiring of expert personal for positions at the board. Though if Vick decides to set up a public limited company he will lose ownership of the company and the decision making process will become long and tedious. The company becomes bound to fulfil all statutory obligations set by the Kingdom and accounts will be required to be published (Plc-Google). Private companies have limited liability and no clear distinction exists between personal and business money. Taxes to be paid by these companies are lower as compared to others. Disadvantages would include a larger sum of capital to set up a company and the accounting records that need to be maintained are usually done by accounting firms who are costly (Happy accountant). The best form of business type that Vick can set up would be a partnership. He can maintain more control over the business and by bringing in a larger share of the capital he can also get a larger share of the profits made. A partnership would also help to bring in more expertise in the form of the partners who can be brought in the business. Vick won’t need to maintain any records of the business as strictly as in a public or private limited company reducing costs. As a sole trader he will be able to retain control of the business but more capital on his part will be demanded and time. Vick may even need to hire specialists to manage those functions that he is not well versed in doing increasing costs. This can be reduced significantly, again, by taking on a partner who is good at those aspects of business which Vick is not. 1 (b) Vick has approached John, a famous singer and songwriter about working for Vick’s company and, they have come to an oral understanding or agreement. Vick would like to make this into a legal contract. Advise Vick, with reference to decided cases, outlining and explaining the formational stages of a valid and legally binding contract. How is a legal contract made? This part of the report will attempt to highlight the various aspects that need to be covered in the contract that John and Vick wish to be binding. The clauses and the intellectual property of the artist and the right to royalties along with the right of the company that Vick hopes to establish. Legally, for a contract to be legally binding on any party there must be an agreement between those who wish to draw up the contract. The second aspect that all contracts must entail is the exchange of any form of goods of value, which is also known as consideration in legal terminology. For Vick to ensure that there is a binding contract that John will work with Vick as a songwriter and singer there will be certain details that will need to be dealt with. Further more an oral contract is not legally binding and to make arrangements more formal a contract is expected. A contract will help to protect both Vick and John as it will clearly define the boundaries of their working relationship. The contract should first and foremost include the name of both parties who are involved and should mention the time period and the conditions under which John will work for Vick. It should state the intended time period for which the working relationship is to last legally and the payment terms according to which John will be paid. Amongst other things the contract should also contain copyright technicalities as well as those of royalties and so on. This contract may hold conditions of what should be done in case one party does not hold up their end of the deal. The date at which the contract has been signed by John and Vick needs to be written in the contract. Exclusivity is a major part of the contract and gives the record company the right to control an artist’s music and demands that the artist work only for one particular company and no other. These conditions may well include a number of albums that the recording company will release of the artist and the area in which the contract is applicable. It could be in the United Kingdom, Europe or the world. Usually now a days contracts are binding no matter where the artists work is spread giving a recording company full rights to the music. The terms of payment will take up a large proportion of the contract and needs to be discussed amongst Vick and John. As it is usually the case, artists make royalties per album that is sold which is more commonly on retail prices. However, if John is to work for Vick it will need to be decided and included in the terms whether the packaging and taking costs of the album will be taken out of the royalties from Johns royalties or not. Songs that are shared over the internet through peer-to-peer networking do not allow for any royalties to the artist and so there are crackdowns to stop this practise as was in Maverick Recording Company v. Harper (Leagle). Advances that Vick will make towards the studio time for John’s initial work will need to be paid off to Vick and this is usually called recoupment and the royalties are withheld till such time that the advance has been paid off. This clause has been criticised by the music industry however, for being exploratory as it asks for more money from struggling artists (Billboard, 2001). Vick will need to decide if he is to represent John as a producer and if so then a clause should be included in the contract of the amount that John will be paying Vick. It would be recommended that he ensure that all possible clauses that are related to the intellectual property of the artist and the locality or territory be covered in the contract. The terms of the royalties and if there will be any if the property of the artist is sold over the internet or shared through peer to peer network. It would be better that all the bases be covered. To conclude, Vick and John need to determine which aspects will be covered in the contract that they wish to set up. Payment details, recoupment terms, terms of when to leave the company. Identify and describe the key legal issues associated with organising a launch party event at a London Club for the première of a film. If something goes wrong in the event during the time or sold tickets and something goes wrong to cancellation how would this be dealt with … please everything else is all good This report will look to highlight the issues of holding an event, the premiering of a film, in a club in London. The management of this even will call for careful planning and the overlooking of several things at once. All the legal rights of the people involved in any way with the making of the film to the audience itself will need to be critically looked at and respected. This report outlines all the main items that will need to be dealt with and the potential situations in which there will be a demand for a contract to be signed. In the organising of an event such as that of a film premiere there are many legal technicalities that need to be looked at by the organiser. The failure of maintaining any legally binding agreement could result in a messy situation if there is anything that goes wrong during the process of the event whether it be before, during or after. As there are quite a few things taking place at once and all need to be done properly the management should sign a legally binding contract that is written so as to avoid calls of no agreement in the future. If organising a file premiere the first thing required would be to get the proper authority and legal compliance to show the film. The author or party that was involved in the making of the film will have to be consulted and their permission will ensure that there is no infringement of copyrights that the film makers are entitled to. This can lead to a great deal of problems if not done by the organising party. Security will need to be dealt with strictly at the club itself and outside. There will be security required to even transport all the monies that are earned during the event to a secure location. The security contingencies can be put in place according to the size of the venue and the size of the crowd. If there are personal who require security while coming to the even and during the duration then more security officers should be employed. There needs to be advertisements done to promote the premiere and ensure that people buy tickets to the event and it’s a success. Once again the intellectual property of the film makers will need to be kept in mind along with the any trademarks and logos that have to be displayed on the banners or other advertisement forms. It should be assured that the advertisements appeal to a diverse audience. Promotion can also be done through the internet as well as through the media. This will be costly and a contract can be set up to include the terms as to who will pay for the promotions and how the profits from the sale of the tickets and other earnings are divided. However, advertisement needs to be done in an orderly fashion so as to reduce the risk of any lawsuits. This needs to be clearly defined as well as the use of trademarks and logos. If there is a situation in which more tickets have been issued than the actual capacity of the venue or the allowed number of audience then those who have been sold tickets at a later date can perhaps be given a refund and some form of consolidation. Food served at the club can either be from the club services itself or an external catering company can be hired to cater for the event. There needs to be particular care paid attention to the serving of the food to the audience. The food that is required to be served hot should not go out to the table at a temperature that is not suitable for service and vice versa for a dish that is to be served cold. It should be made clear on the menu that a dish contain which particular items and a note pertaining to the use of nuts and other dairy products known to cause allergies should be mentioned. The kitchen conditions need to be observed and it should be made sure that a through cleaning has taken place before the cooking for the event is underway. All food items should be brought from a reliable source and checked for contamination or expiration as this can cause undue potential for a lawsuit as in the case of Owen Langon (Marler Clark, 2004). These measures will ensure that there is no breach of the Food Safety Act 1990 section 7 and section 8 (University of Reading). To make this formal a contract should be drawn between the organising party and the caterers, whom so ever they are, and in the case of any mishap or lawsuit, the caterers should be liable to the damages done. Insurance should be taken out against the products that the organising party is bringing in and it would be assumed that the items belonging to the club are already insured. In case of any damage that is done to the materials in the club that is not pertaining to any audience, then the cost that is not covered by the insurance shall be done so by the perpetrator. It would be wise to keep the line distinct between the assets of the club and those that the organisers bring in themselves. It will make the case of recovering damages a lot easier. In the case of any theft or stolen effects from the audience then the club and organisers should assume no responsibility considering that the risks have been mentioned to them and a “no responsibility” clause shown or contracted by those who buy the tickets. As the club will be open to a specific age group for the film to be premiered at a club there are bound to be teenagers among the crowd present. If the club has a licence to serve alcohol as per the Licensing Act 2003 beverages, then it will need to be carefully poured out as the one drinking could be a minor (DCMS). The legal age in the United Kingdom for drinking is 18 and as a safety precaution the minors should be made to wear tags on their wrists to signal that they are under aged (ICAP). Identification should be made mandatory at the bar to ensure that only adults are given alcoholic drinks. If the club does not which to maintain any authority over who the drinks are served to then it would be best to bar the entry of those who are minors so to make that no illegal drinking takes place. The entertainment at the club will need to be gauged according to the desire of the parties. If there is any audio playing of songs from the soundtrack of the film then once again a contract will need to be drawn up with perhaps the permission of the film screening itself. It needs to be assuring that there is no illegal use of the intellectual property of the artist and the recording company may need to be paid royalties for the playing of the songs. If so then an amount needs to be discussed beforehand and a contract signed between the record company and the organisers. Trademarks for the label and the logo that it may use will have to be displayed accurately as well as the acknowledgements for the work. Other forms of entertainment such as dancing and so forth will need to be carried out under strict supervision of the club authorities if it is allowed in the event. Certain clubs maintain a no smoking policy while some do not and other has separate lounges for smoking. Considering that the audience in the club on that night will not be the usual patrons it is regardless whether the club follows which policy. If the audience are from a diverse background they will expect to be accommodated by the club and that facilities be offered. It would be prudent on part of the organisers and the club to perhaps set up a smoking area in a corner area of the club and if the safety regulations of the building do not permit any such activities then audience should be timely advised that no smoking is to take place. Currently there is a ban in the United Kingdom that prohibits any form of smoking from taking place in certain areas that can be called public. It will have to be checked with the club management whether smoking is allowed at all in the first place before any arrangements are to be made to accommodate smokers. Disabled people shall have to be treated as fairly as the others who will be at the event. Firstly the parties should look at who the term, disabled, applies to. The United States Supreme Court in 1999 made it clear to the public who was going to be defined as a disabled citizen in the ruling of the case SUTTON et al. v. UNITED AIR LINES, INC. This case solved the problem of having to decipher whether a person came under the tag of disabled. The disabled have greatly been discriminated against in the United Kingdom as in the case of Oliver Coleman and his mother (Clare Dyer, 2007). A separate entry point should be set up for those who are disabled and require assistance either in entering the club or further on inside it even. Contingencies should be in place so that in case of an emergency there is a plan to evacuate those from the building who are unable to walk or are in wheelchairs. A separate exit should be maintained for them ensuring that they do not get caught up in the crowd and no harm is done. As the Discrimination Act of 2005 maintains, it is a crime if a club discriminates against a disabled person so that he is not able to benefit from the same facilities as others (OPSI). As in the case of security and in keeping in mind the health of the audience, the club should only be allowed to accommodate a sizable amount of people that it can cater to without getting overwhelmed. This number should include the workers at the club itself. Once again all safety measure should be taking. Exits should be clearly marked as per the safety code of the city of London and sprinkler systems and extinguishers should be checked to make sure they are in order and working condition. An inspection from a personal of the fire department can be asked to do a check of the club a week before the event is to take place. Noise pollution by clubs has been a major problem as certain clubs are situated near residential areas. The city of London has set up a pollution team that can gauge whether the noise created by the club is a nuisance or not and if so it can charge the club as per the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (City of London). Noise level of the film will need to set so that it is kept within the limit that is permissible by the city of London. As the club has probably hosted many events in the past they can be expected to have some provisions in place already to make sure that the noise pollution does not exceed the unreasonable level. Other technicalities such as the condition of the equipment will need to be checked by the organisers. They will need to make sure that the sound system is working properly and have a sound check before the doors are opened to the public. The projectors and other equipment required in the playing of the film will need to be tested. In conclusion the event organiser will have to make sure that they are in legal boundaries to hold the event without any hitches. Contracts will be needed for permission to play the film without infringing on the intellectual property of the makers and artists as well as for the soundtracks. Contracts need to be drawn up for the caterers as well as the decorators, if any are hired. A contract regarding the use of the club as a venue will need to be enacted which should include the services provided by the club and those that the organisers will hire themselves from the outside. Payment terms will need to be laid down in the contract. Risk management will need to be looked at thoroughly and proper emergency procedure should be in place as discussed with security beforehand. The organisers should take care to handle all legal issues before they proceed with the event as the overlooking of any right on part of another person can result in a heavy loss in terms of money. In case there goes anything wrong during the course of the event such as an unforeseen cancellation or withdrawal of rights to play the film then those who have brought tickets will have to be refunded their money. If not all then a certain percentage and the management can keep a certain amount fixed on every ticket sold to cover costs that have been incurred in preparation. This needs to be stated perhaps on the backside of the ticket and audience needs to be informed beforehand. A security situation during the event should not necessarily call for refunds but in such an environment safety should be prioritised. It is recommended that previous event in at the same club be taken as precedent and so should other film premiere in the vicinity. It will prove to be a learning experience and from there the organisers can deal with all contracts. Looking at the cases regarding the breach of some common acts in an event such as this will also be of use. The attempt of this report was to bring to light some important features of the requirements of the entertainment industry and to provide insight to someone who probably does not know the laws that govern that relate to all aspects of life. It includes a few regulations and acts that concern pollution, the disabled and even the question of smoking in a club. A few cases which were considered to be important in their decision have been mentioned as well. Work Cited Bill Holland (2001). Artists Lawyer Debate Contracts. Billboard. pp.1,69. City of London [online]. (2010) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Clare Dyer. European court to rule on UK disability discrimination ban. (2007). The Guardian, Monday 8 October 2007. David Jukes (1996). The University of Reading [online]. [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Department for Culture, Media and Sports [online]. (2010) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Editor (2007). The Happy Accountant [online]. [Accessed 28 may 2010]. Available from: . Find Law [online]. (2008) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Google Docs [online]. (-) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . International Center For Alcohol Policies, 2002. Drinking age limits, ICAP annual report 4, London: ICAP Marler Clark [online]. (2004) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Music Law [online]. (2009) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Office of Public Sector Information [online]. (2005) [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . Terry Cartwright (2008). Articles base [online]. [Accessed 28 May 2010]. Available from: . The Smoking Ban [online]. 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