Revision Legal’s Michigan entertainment lawyers can help you navigate entertainment law. Our attorneys have represented artists, musicians, writers, and video game developers in the following areas:
If you are a Michigan-based artist, musician, writer, or other creative, contact the Michigan entertainment lawyers at Revision Legal. We can help you protect and enforce your rights.
The entertainment industry—music, film, publishing, video games, and digital media—is built on intellectual property and contracts. For every creative in Michigan, the most valuable asset is their work. Without proper legal protection, that work can be exploited, stolen, or lost through careless contracting. Michigan entertainment lawyers bridge the gap between creative talent and legal protection, ensuring that artists retain the rights they deserve and receive fair compensation for their work.
Michigan has a vibrant creative economy. Detroit has a world-renowned music heritage spanning Motown, techno, and hip-hop. Grand Rapids, Traverse City, and Ann Arbor host active independent music and film communities. The video game development industry has also grown significantly in Michigan, with studios producing games for major platforms. Each of these industries generates legal issues that require specialized knowledge of copyright, trademark, contract, and business law.
Publishing agreements are among the most important and potentially dangerous contracts a creator will sign. A music publishing agreement, for example, typically involves the transfer of some or all of the writer’s copyright in their compositions to a publisher in exchange for a share of the royalties generated by those compositions. Without experienced entertainment lawyers reviewing these agreements, creators can unknowingly sign away their rights for the entire term of copyright protection—which is the life of the author plus 70 years under 17 U.S.C. § 302.
Key issues to negotiate in any publishing agreement include the scope of the copyright transfer (full assignment versus a license), the royalty split, the accounting provisions and audit rights, the reversion of rights if the publisher fails to exploit the works, and the territory covered by the agreement. Our Michigan entertainment lawyers have the experience to identify unfavorable terms and negotiate on behalf of creators to achieve balanced agreements.
While copyright protection arises automatically upon fixation of an original work in a tangible medium of expression, registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is not optional for creators who want to enforce their rights. Federal courts require registration as a prerequisite for filing a copyright infringement lawsuit for U.S. works, following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, 586 U.S. 296 (2019). Registration also unlocks the ability to recover statutory damages (up to $150,000 per willful infringement) and attorney’s fees—remedies that make infringement litigation economically viable.
Our entertainment lawyers handle copyright registration for individual works and for libraries of existing creative works. We advise clients on registration timing, work-for-hire issues, co-authorship disputes, and registration of derivative works. We also conduct copyright audits for entertainment companies acquiring catalogs or entering into licensing arrangements to identify registration gaps that need to be addressed.
Copyright infringement in the entertainment industry takes many forms: unauthorized sampling of music, unlicensed use of photographs or artwork, counterfeit merchandise, piracy of films and recordings, and unauthorized reproduction of written works. Our entertainment lawyers pursue infringement claims in federal courts and through DMCA takedown procedures to stop unauthorized use and recover damages.
We also defend creators who have been accused of copyright infringement. Not all infringement claims are valid. Defenses including fair use, independent creation, scenes-a-faire, and the merger doctrine are frequently available and can defeat infringement claims that may appear threatening at first glance.
A musician’s band name, an author’s pen name, or an entertainment company’s brand identity can all be registered as federal trademarks. Registration provides nationwide rights, a legal presumption of ownership, and the ability to file suit in federal court for infringement. It also enables the trademark owner to record the registration with U.S. Customs to block counterfeit merchandise at the border.
Our trademark attorneys conduct clearance searches before filing to evaluate whether a proposed mark is available, prepare and file applications with the USPTO, respond to Office Actions, and handle trademark infringement disputes when third parties use similar marks in commerce.
Merchandising agreements license the right to produce and sell branded merchandise using an artist’s name, likeness, trademark, or creative works. These agreements must carefully define the licensed rights, the royalty rate and advance, quality control standards, the territory, the term, and the process for approving products. Without these provisions, artists can lose control of how their brand is used and fail to receive fair compensation for that use.
Michigan entertainment lawyers at Revision Legal draft and negotiate merchandising agreements for artists, bands, sports figures, authors, and entertainment brands. We also pursue claims against unauthorized merchandise vendors who exploit a client’s brand without a license, seeking injunctive relief, actual damages, and attorney’s fees.
Contact the Michigan entertainment lawyers at Revision Legal today for a consultation. Whatever stage of your creative career you are in, we are here to protect your work and your rights.
Michigan artists, musicians, and other creative professionals often overlook the importance of proper business formation until a legal problem forces the issue. Operating as an unincorporated sole proprietor means that your personal assets are exposed to any legal claims arising from your creative business—a breach of contract claim from a promoter, a copyright infringement lawsuit from a fellow musician, or a personal injury claim from a concert attendee can all reach your personal bank account without a protective business entity in place.
Most creative professionals benefit from forming a single-member LLC or a multi-member LLC if they are working with partners. The LLC structure provides liability protection, pass-through taxation, and the flexibility to structure profit sharing and management authority in a way that reflects the creative partnership’s actual working arrangement. Our Michigan entertainment lawyers handle business formation for creative professionals and draft operating agreements that address the unique issues that arise in creative partnerships, including how the partnership will handle departures, how creative IP ownership is allocated, and how the business will be valued if one partner wants to exit. Contact us today for a consultation on the business structure that is right for your creative career.
For many Michigan artists and entertainers, the first encounter with a significant entertainment contract is a moment of excitement mixed with anxiety. Whether it’s a record deal, a book publishing agreement, a licensing proposal from a video game company, or a brand sponsorship offer, the terms of these agreements can have decades-long consequences for the artist’s career and financial position. Understanding the deal-making process and having experienced legal counsel at your side before you sign is not a luxury—it is essential.
Our Michigan entertainment lawyers explain the deal-making process clearly, translate legal jargon into plain language, and ensure that you understand exactly what you are agreeing to before you sign. We negotiate on your behalf to improve unfavorable terms, eliminate one-sided provisions, and secure protections that the other side’s standard form contract does not include. The cost of legal review before signing is invariably far lower than the cost of resolving a dispute after you have committed to a bad deal. Contact the Michigan entertainment lawyers at Revision Legal today.
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