Perkins Coie’s attorneys serve as art collection counsel for corporations and represent individual art collectors in the purchase and sale of art, both through auction houses and privately, as well as with the commissioning of new original works, and with loans and gifts to museums and other institutions. We also help collectors with the development of collections management policies, including acquisition strategies, deaccession protocols, and copyright licensing programs. We work with brick-and-mortar and online art galleries to assist them in working with artists and offering artwork for sale. 

We also assist artists, illustrators, and cartoonists, with publication, distribution and merchandising of their work as well as advise them on fair use issues and infringement matters. Our experience includes helping museums with complex copyright clearance projects and advised clients on public artists calls and the selection of artwork for public and government-owned spaces.

Experienced with a full range of published materials and platforms, we counsel authors, playwrights, cartoonists, and book and magazine publishers on digital media rights, royalty terms, audit provisions, and copyright and contract negotiations and disputes. We draft and negotiate publishing agreements, literary option agreements, life story agreements, literary agency agreements, screenwriting agreements, ghostwriting agreements and other critical contacts. Authors rely on our negotiation strengths to maximize their rights and returns related to book tours, merchandise, licensing, and other ventures. 

Our music experience is expansive and music licensing and rights clearance are a major focus. We work with clients to efficiently and strategically license music properties and have cleared music rights for a wide range of uses, including video games, political campaigns, dance videos, museums, commercials, television, and movies. Additionally, we have assisted with the launch and ongoing operations of major digital music distribution platforms.

Our clients range from major corporations to small, cutting-edge startups, to individual bands and musicians. Whether negotiating traditional music contracts, such as recording contracts, publishing agreements, and producer agreements, or helping clients navigate the new technology-centric aspects of the music business, such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and digital distribution, our music counsel is broad and innovative.

Familiar with the concerns of performers and organizations that mount live productions, our attorneys assist clients with a wide range of events, from concerts and fundraisers to political conventions and corporate events. Our assistance includes obtaining music licenses and negotiating the agreements necessary to carry out such events, such as venue agreements, merchandising agreements, and performer agreements.

We represent a wide variety of arts organizations—from small, local music and theater groups to large production companies. We represent dance troupes, a ballet company, music organizations, and theatre companies, negotiating choreography agreements, composer agreements, artistic commission agreements, and other protections. Our attorneys extend their commitment to the arts through positions on board of directors of performance arts groups, including the Pacific Northwest Ballet, the Seattle Rep, Seattle Children’s Theater, and Seattle Shakespeare Company.

We represent brands and personalities in a range of talent-driven arrangements, including appearance, sponsorship, endorsement, merchandising, naming-rights, promotional partnership, and influencer marketing agreements. We help our clients expand and enhance their brands by expanding into new markets and product lines. We also counsel our clients on how to best protect and license their publicity rights today and for their future heirs. We also help our clients address the complicated regulatory framework facing influencer marketing.

Within the field of photography, we represent photographers and consumers alike in licensing agreements, sale negotiations, and copyright and contract negotiation and disputes. Our experience extends from negotiations concerning the sale and gifting of photographic collections with auction houses, galleries, and museums to advising owners of stock images and stock image platforms in their licensing and sale endeavors. We also provide guidance to advertisers and companies regarding the use of photography in marketing and product images.

From documentaries, corporate videos, and film and television productions to the licensing of literary properties and the comprehensive management of rights and clearances, we have experience with the unique issues that arise in the production, distribution, licensing, and other exploitation of entertainment properties across a wide array of platforms.

We represent podcast platforms, hosts, creators, and distributors, guiding our clients through the key business and legal issues that arise when bringing podcast content to market. From talent agreements and releases to rights clearance, production, and distribution, we apply our in-depth legal skills and industry knowledge to support our clients as they create, host, distribute, market, and license podcast content.

The use of NFTs and other blockchain technology has seen a sudden and meteoric rise in the arts and entertainment industries, and members of our Arts & Entertainment practice, along with attorneys in our FinTech group, have been at the forefront of assisting clients in addressing the myriad legal issues associated with such technology. Whether assisting with the minting, sale, or purchase of NFTs or setting up an NFT marketplace, or advising clients who are using blockchain technology as a means of authentication to track ownership, use, licensing, or sale of their work, clients rely on Perkins Coie to help them navigate the novel legal issues surrounding these technologies.