Buckworths advises start-ups and growing businesses across the creative industries, including advertising, marketing, television, theatre, music, art, publishing, architecture, and design.
We advise on the commercial and rights contracts that are central to creative businesses: rights agreements, licensing arrangements, co-production agreements, brand protection, and IP ownership. We make sure copyright is properly assigned or licensed and that the ownership of creative work is unambiguous.
We advise on corporate structuring, commercial agreements, employment law in freelance environments, and property transactions including studio and office leases. For creative businesses seeking investment, we advise on shareholder agreements, SEIS and EIS, and funding rounds. We also assist with exit planning for founders and investors.
Book a free consultation to discuss your creative business.
Our Services
- Commercial
- Commercial Property
- Corporate
- Data Protection
- Dispute Resolution
- Employee Incentivisation
- Employment
- Franchising
- Funding
- General Counsel
- Intellectual Property
- Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
- Regulatory Services
- Secretarial Services
- Strategy and Business Support
FAQs
There are several steps to protecting creative work effectively: 1. Copyright arises automatically in original work without registration, but keep evidence of creation dates. 2. Use written agreements with all collaborators, employees, and freelancers to confirm IP ownership. 3. Register your brand name and logo as trademarks for stronger protection. 4. Licence your work in writing rather than informally. We advise creative businesses on the full range of IP protection available to them.
Client contracts for creative agencies should cover the scope of work, fees and payment terms, IP ownership and licensing, confidentiality, the client's obligations, revision and approval processes, and what happens on termination. Getting IP ownership provisions right is particularly important. Many disputes in the creative sector arise from unclear terms about who owns the final work. We draft client contracts for creative businesses.
A licensing agreement allows you to grant someone else the right to use your IP without transferring ownership of it. Licences are used extensively in the creative industries, for example when a photographer licenses images, a designer licenses a brand, or a musician licenses a track. The terms of the licence, including exclusivity, territory, duration, and fee, all need to be clearly set out in writing. We draft and review licensing agreements for creative businesses.