When does "inspiration" become "infringement"?
Dave Ratner explores this common question in the creative industry.
Follow us on social @creativelawnetwork for more insights on your creative business.
Musicians—we want YOU to win in the music industry!
We're excited to be part of Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) and Colorado Music Industry Alliance (CMIA)'s "Own Your Sound: Master the Business of Music". Our very own Dave Ratner joins Max Hass of Holon Law in discussing about the law and business of music to secure your rights, collect your revenue, and have a successful career. And did we mention it's for FREE?!
The virtual sessions will be held weekly on Monday nights from 6:00 – 7:30pm from March 3 through April 7, 2025. You can sign up in advance for any or all of these sessions:
📅 WEEK 1 / March 3: Music Copyright and Contract Fundamentals. Understand the rights you have in your music, the contracts that control those rights, and the money that flows from those rights.
📅 WEEK 2 / March 10: Publishing, Split Sheets, Publishing Deals, PROs, and Mechanicals. Writer’s share? Publisher’s share? ASCAP? BMI? MLC? We’ll cover all of it!
📅 WEEK 3 / March 17: Masters, Session Musician Agreements, Record Deals, and SoundExchange. Master your master rights! This session will cover everything related to your sound recordings.
📅 WEEK 4 / March 24: Producer and Engineer Agreements, Synch and Master Use Licenses, and Sampling. When it’s time to record, what do you need to know? This session covers everything related to the contracts and deals for recording.
📅 WEEK 5 / March 31: Management, Booking Agent, and Live Performance Agreements. Contracts, contracts, CONTRACTS! You need to know these deals and we’ll explain them all.
📅 WEEK 6 / April 7: Running Your Band Like a Business: LLCs/Corporations, Band Agreements, and Trademarks. This session is all about the business behind the music. We bring it all together in this final class.
Sign-up link: https://cbca.org/own-your-sound-master-the-business-of-music/
Questions? Send us a message!
Are creatives and artists the same?
Who are creatives?
Are you one of them?
As a law firm serving creative individuals and businesses, we've worked with clients of various industries and specialties. Here are a few examples of creatives we love working with.
P.S. We're sure this list is not complete! What would you add?
Good food deserves great marketing!
This month's Client Spotlight is on Grapevine Local Food Marketing. Founded in 2016, it was born from Sarah Highlen's diverse marketing experience and long-time advocacy for local food.
Now a full-fledged team of local food marketing professionals, Grapevine offers cost-effective marketing solutions to local farms, food businesses, and local food initiatives across the US and Canada.
If you love farm life and local food businesses, you'll also love following Grapevine's stories and social updates! Give them a follow and check out their website to learn more about their farm marketing services.
Which one is your favorite?
Here's a bit of trivia you might love: Do you know that there are two copyrights in every song?
The first one is the composition--the words and music, also known as publishing rights.
The second one is the recording, also called the master.
As music lawyers, we help our clients with contracts, copyrights, and business law. We take care of everything on the business side so they can focus on and enjoy creating music.
So if you're a musician or creative who needs some support with the legal stuff, that's our forte.
Send us a message so we can help!
They say timing is everything… but does it apply to copyright registrations, too?
Should you register every iteration of your work? Or the final version only? What if you want to update it?
Dave Ratner shares how you can make the decision more confidently.
Got more questions? Send us a message!
Launching a creative business in 2025?
Here are 6 facts to know about trademarks as you brainstorm about your brand.
We would be delighted if you would vote for us again!
It is always our pleasure to work with creatives to protect and grow their business through intellectual property. And what a great bonus to be recognized with this award!
You can still cast your vote until January 31. Our sincerest thanks for all your votes!
What do an alligator artist and an emu guitarist have in common?!
They're two of the many amazing animals featured in Knowlific's newly published book, Amazing Animal Alphabet Adventures: A Hilarious A-Z Picture Book!
If you're passionate about innovative and joyful learning, our first Client Spotlight this 2025 is for you! Specializing in phonics and reading science, Knowlific designs and publishes innovative, research-based curricula that make learning engaging, effective, and fun for kids.
As you can see with their latest picture book, Knowlific believes in making educational materials fun and easy to use!
Stay updated with @knowlific, visit their website at knowlific.com, and share about Amazing Animal Alphabet Adventures with your family and friends!
Our client's true story:
Then an emerging visual artist from the Midwest, our client was asked to provide the artwork for an established musician’s upcoming album.
Creative Law Network was called on to negotiate with the musician’s management and record label for contract negotiation and copyright protection.
While our client was sure to be paid for his work, we helped him retain his copyright ownership.
He also retained the rights to release limited edition prints of the artwork while restricting the label’s rights to only for circumscribed uses.
This resulted in increased leverage and profits for our client.
And here's the win-win: The album went on to win two Grammy® awards and catapulted our client into the public eye.
Got an opportunity you want to lock in for success? Creative Law Network is your team!