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Mr. Nidhish Mehrotra
FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNERNidhish Mehrotra, Founder and Managing Partner of ANM Global, has over 15 years of experience of diverse legal expertise. Known for his business-enabling legal solutions, Nidhish is a trusted advisor to CEOs, CFOs, and GCs of major companies.
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Anushree Rauta
Arpit Choudhary
Rahul Mehta
Rahul Dhote
Punit Jani
Hemangi Abhyankar
Rajendra Prasad
Sukhamrinder Singh Ahluwalia
Radhika Mathur
Khushboo Butail Karol
Shikha Ginodia
Gautam Panchal
Nittin Bhatia
Meet the Experts Behind ANM Global
Since its inception in 2009, ANM Global has built a solid reputation by fostering a collaborative and expert-led approach to legal services. Our team of professionals includes partners, associates, and legal advisors who possess a deep understanding of the legal landscape, both in India and internationally. Operating from our offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai, we cover a wide array of industries, including media and entertainment law, intellectual property law, corporate law, and dispute resolution.
Our lawyers bring decades of experience across multiple practice areas, ensuring that clients benefit from strategic guidance and robust representation. With expertise spanning sectors such as healthcare, infrastructure, real estate, energy, technology, and more, our team delivers practical legal solutions grounded in a thorough understanding of the law and business.
Whether it’s handling high-profile media law cases in Mumbai, guiding corporations through complex mergers, or protecting intellectual property, our team is committed to delivering results that align with our clients’ goals.
As a leading media and entertainment law firm and one of the top law firms in Mumbai, ANM Global continues to stand out for its dedication to excellence, personalized client service, and an unwavering commitment to the legal profession.
In the dynamic and high-stakes world of media and entertainment, the role of entertainment lawyers extends far beyond legal advice. Contract structuring, negotiation, drafting, and litigation are the cornerstones of their practice, ensuring that all transactions are legally sound, fair, and enforceable while protecting their clients’ creative assets and business interests.
Media and entertainment lawyers handle a range of transactional and litigation matters that are integral to the entertainment industry, from film contracts and music deals to sports agreements and digital content licensing. Whether it’s a contract dispute or a high-value licensing deal, entertainment lawyers are pivotal in structuring, negotiating, drafting, and enforcing contracts to safeguard their clients’ rights.
1. Contract Structuring, Negotiation, and Drafting in Entertainment Transactions
Contracts are the backbone of every entertainment deal. In a sector where intellectual property (IP), creative assets, and financial considerations intersect, entertainment lawyers ensure that every contract is carefully structured to minimize risks and maximize benefits. From a film production agreement to a streaming content deal, each contract requires meticulous attention to detail.
a. Structuring Entertainment Contracts
Contract structuring involves creating the framework that will govern the relationship between parties in an entertainment deal. This includes determining:
- Payment Terms: Structuring compensation based on milestones, royalties, advances, or profit-sharing, depending on the nature of the project.
- Territorial Rights: Defining the territories in which content can be distributed or performed, crucial in the context of international contracts.
- Intellectual Property Ownership: Clearly defining who owns the rights to the work (e.g., copyright for a film, song, or television show), and whether any portion of those rights is licensed or transferred.
- Exclusivity Clauses: Determining whether talent or a producer is exclusive to a specific project or can work with other parties.
- Duration and Termination: Setting clear timelines for the agreement, including the option for renewal and termination conditions based on performance, deliverables, or other metrics.
b. Negotiating Entertainment Contracts
Negotiation is a key part of structuring entertainment deals. Lawyers in the media and entertainment sector must be adept at advocating for their clients, ensuring that terms are favorable and risks are minimized. Negotiation involves:
- Talent and Employment Agreements: For actors, directors, writers, musicians, and other talent, entertainment lawyers negotiate terms such as pay rates, royalties, crediting, and creative control.
- Media Rights and Distribution Deals: When negotiating distribution contracts for films, TV shows, or digital content, entertainment lawyers ensure that their clients retain control over content rights and receive fair compensation for distribution, licensing, and syndication.
- Co-Production and Collaboration Agreements: Entertainment lawyers help structure co-productions, ensuring that all parties (producers, investors, distribution platforms) agree on profit-sharing, creative input, and control over the final product.
c. Drafting Entertainment Contracts
After the terms are negotiated, contract drafting is the next critical step. Entertainment lawyers ensure that the contract is legally sound, unambiguous, and comprehensive, covering all aspects of the deal, including:
- Work-for-Hire Agreements: Used in film and TV, ensuring that the work created by talent is owned by the producer or studio.
- Licensing and Distribution Contracts: Clearly defining the scope, terms, and conditions for licensing rights to films, music, TV shows, or digital content, including territory and platform
- Talent Contracts: Drafting contracts for talent such as actors, musicians, and athletes, covering pay structures, royalties, and rights to creative content.
- Merchandising Agreements: For films, sports events, or music, drafting contracts that ensure royalties and profit-sharing for branded merchandise or products tied to entertainment content.
2. Transactional Legal Work in Media and Entertainment
The transactional legal work in the media and entertainment sector is multifaceted, involving not just the creation of contracts but also the management of complex transactions related to IP rights, distribution, financing, and licensing. Transactional work in media law typically involves:
a. Licensing and Distribution Agreements
Licensing and distribution agreements are some of the most common types of transactional work in entertainment. Lawyers negotiate the licensing of film, television programs, music, and digital content for broadcast, syndication, or streaming. Key aspects of these agreements include:
- Revenue Sharing: Negotiating how revenues will be split between content creators, distributors, and streaming platforms.
- Global Licensing: Negotiating global or regional rights for content distribution, ensuring that content can be marketed and monetized worldwide.
- Digital Rights: Dealing with the challenges of licensing content for OTT platforms (such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, ZEE5) or digital sales.
b. Financing and Investment Contracts
Financing plays a significant role in the entertainment industry, especially for large-scale projects like films, TV series, or live sports events. Entertainment lawyers are involved in negotiating financing arrangements, such as:
- Co-investment Agreements: Structuring agreements between multiple investors or production companies to finance a project.
- Product Placement and Sponsorships: Lawyers help structure product placement deals, sponsorship agreements, and brand integration into entertainment content.
3. Litigation and Dispute Resolution in Entertainment Law
While transactional work is essential, litigation and dispute resolution are equally crucial in the entertainment industry, where high-value contracts, IP rights, and public figures are involved. Media and entertainment lawyers often represent clients in disputes related to:
a. Breach of Contract
Entertainment lawyers handle disputes involving breach of contract, whether due to non-payment, failure to deliver on creative projects, or breach of confidentiality agreements. Common scenarios include:
- Non-payment of Royalties: Disputes over unpaid or miscalculated royalties, particularly with respect to digital platforms.
- Film Production Delays: Disagreements regarding failure to meet deadlines, which can cause production delays or financial losses.
- Contract Termination: Disputes arising from the termination of contracts, such as talent contracts or distribution agreements, where one party claims the other has failed to meet their obligations.
b. Intellectual Property Disputes
Intellectual property disputes are particularly common in the media and entertainment industry, where copyright infringement and trademark violations can cause significant damage to a client’s reputation and revenue. Lawyers handle:
- Copyright Infringement: Defending clients against claims of unauthorized use of copyrighted material, or filing lawsuits for IP violations.
- Trademark Disputes: Protecting brand names, logos, and other trademarks in cases of infringement or unauthorized use.
- Defamation: Protecting public figures from defamatory statements, particularly in the media, film, and digital platforms.
c. Dispute Resolution and Mediation
Litigation in the entertainment sector can be expensive and time-consuming. Entertainment lawyers often work with clients to resolve disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like mediation and arbitration, which can be quicker and more cost-effective. These approaches can help:
- Resolve Contractual Disputes: In cases involving talent contracts or production agreements.
- Handle Partnership Disputes: When conflicts arise between co-producers, investors, or collaborators in entertainment projects.
4. Why Media and Entertainment Lawyers are Essential in Transactional and Litigation Matters
A skilled media and entertainment lawyer offers invaluable support throughout both transactional and litigation phases of the entertainment industry. With specialized knowledge of entertainment law, intellectual property, contract negotiations, and dispute resolution, these lawyers ensure that:
- Contracts are carefully structured to minimize risk and protect the client’s interests.
- Negotiations are handled professionally, ensuring clients achieve favorable terms.
- Litigation is managed effectively, with disputes resolved efficiently through mediation, arbitration, or court proceedings.
Whether it’s structuring an international content licensing deal, negotiating a film production contract, or defending against a copyright infringement claim, a media and entertainment law firm ensures that its clients’ interests are protected in all aspects of the entertainment industry.