Stay legally updated!

Whether you are well versed in litigation, or the complexities of our legal system or not, having a general understanding of the legal implications surrounding your business or industry is extremely important. The litigious society and governmental regulatory environment we are experiencing today is more impactful and visible than any other time in our history. The list of potential legal issues and liabilities for any small business owner has never been more significant, and impacts the way companies are run and structured. The entertainment industry is experiencing growth, but is becoming more and more complicated, with distribution issues, social networking issues, etc. all related to copyrights, trademarks, patents, and licensing. These legal issues have always been around, but they have become complex and economically impactful with the evolution and growth of technology, media, and society. One other industry under serious legal scrutiny is the financial institutions and the regulations of funds and banks, because the recent financial crisis has finally revealed the serious fraud issues that have become common practice over the past decade.
Being a diligent and vigilant entrepreneur in this environment requires you to stay apprised of the legal issues and changes within your industry. Doing so can help minimize risk and liability, and be able to grow and adapt your company without any shocks or surprises which could bring it crashing down over night.
Whether you have major legal resources, friends as lawyers, or neither, being ignorant to the legal and political landscape is just bad business sense. Regardless of resources or not, todays technologically connected, globalized society, there are ample amounts of free legal resources online to make sure you are up to date. Recently I have been listening to legal podcasts online, which have increased my awareness and knowledge of the legal issues surrounding the Entertainment and financial industries.
There are an abundance of materials, from online legal platforms such as leagalzoom.com, to government websites, to free podcasts available on individual websites or Itunes. I utilized the podcasts which were both available free online and on Itunes, these podcast last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. I utilized the Entertainment Law Podcast by Gordon P. Firemark, the Trademark & Copyright Law forum by Thomson Compumark, and the Clayton UTZ podcast which deals with hedge funds legal issues.
Gordon P. Firemark is a well renound Entertainment Lawyer, who uses his podcast platform to engage a variety of issues across the entertainment industry, utilizing news, legal cases, and special guests for insights and analysis. In his episode Law update 20 on May 11, 2011 titled Tattoos and Topiaries, there was a variety of interesting examples and insights. This episode talked about the Bratz dolls property rights, copyright infringements for the movie Alien vs Predators and more. Perhaps the most interesting example deals with the copyright infringement case involving Mike Tysons tattoo artist Victor Whitmill and the use of his design in the second rendition of the Hangover. These stories and examples really give you a good idea of the scope of protection required in todays legal environment.
The second podcast I utilized was the podcast titled : “Technology agreements that work”. This podcast really gave me a good in depth analysis, regarding the evaluations, drafting, negotiations, and enforcement of complex technology agreements. This really applies to all businesses, but technology agreements can involve many people and have many contingencies which are important so that you business can produce assets instead of liabilities.
The third podcast was one produced by and Australian Law firm Clayton Utz, in a series of podcasts that discuss the issues surrounding insolvent hedge funds and equity funds around the world. Podcast 3: “Riding the wave of insolvency, narrated by Jennifer Ball a partner in the firm, addresses the major issues with certain funds around the world, utilizing legal and business experts around the world. In this they highlight the importance of certain regulations that need to be changed, as well as the major issues of locating and distributing funds, which have become increasingly adept at hiding and allocating their funds in offshore accounts around the world.

There are plenty of resources out there, both free and costly, regardless, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to lawsuits and your business. The idea is that it is necessary to stay up to date on your knowledge of the evolving legal landscape, and keeping your personal life and business in line with such expectations and ideals.