Media and Entertainment

At Paul, Weiss, our lawyers help build the business of entertainment. Eighty years of working with prominent industry participants — combined with a thorough knowledge of the economic, regulatory and technological forces that shape the present day — place us in a unique position to help media and entertainment powerhouses, financial sponsors and entrepreneurs in business-critical and precedent-setting transactions and litigations.

Jump to:  Why Paul, Weiss? | Our Practice | Industries | Selected Clients | Recognitions | Representative Engagements

Why Paul, Weiss?

Paul, Weiss has built one of the most active, innovative and compelling media and entertainment practices in the nation. We leverage one of the oldest and most prominent entertainment practices in the country and marry it with years of sophisticated New York-based corporate and mergers and acquisition experience and a world-renowned Litigation Department. We handle industry-altering transactions such as the Time Warner Cable spin-off from Time Warner Inc., the Endeavor-William Morris Agency merger, the combination of Sony and BMG recorded music businesses and the Charter Communications restructuring and help create new businesses such as the formation of DreamWorks, The Weinstein Company and the Hub Children’s cable television network.

We have experience in every industry sector from motion pictures, recorded music, music publishing, and cable and broadcast television to live theater, book and magazine publishing. We have worked with every type of client – from major film studios, cable companies, record labels and television networks to private equity funds, hedge funds and production financing vehicles to playwrights, actors, directors, screen- and songwriters. And we handle transactions across the globe from emerging overseas markets with untapped potential to the storied playhouses of Broadway.

The world’s most important media and entertainment clients demand innovative thinking, creative problem solving and unparalleled ingenuity. As companies evolve to leverage new technologies and convergence among media industry players escalates, we partner with the full range of industry participants to identify and take advantage of the opportunities in an every-changing marketplace. For more than 80 years, Paul, Weiss has risen to the occasion and helped these participants navigate one of the most complex, challenging and exciting industries in the world.

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Our Practice

In addition to our prominent media and entertainment pedigree, we offer clients our sophisticated strengths in mergers and acquisitions, finance, securities, bankruptcy, tax, employment and intellectual property as well as a world-renowned Litigation Department. These resources empower us to consummate the major deals and financings and litigate the high-stakes disputes that often develop in this rapidly changing industry.

Intellectual property rights are especially salient in media and entertainment legal matters, and our entertainment intellectual property team is involved in virtually every entertainment transaction that passes through our Corporate Department. Our lawyers also help media and entertainment clients that come to Paul, Weiss specifically for the protection and exploitation of their intellectual property assets.

Given our expertise and historical experience in the media and entertainment industry, we proactively seek and create new opportunities for clients. We have particular expertise in:

• Assisting clients engaging in company-altering and market-consolidating mergers and acquisitions;
• Helping companies make strategic acquisitions to enhance and diversify their portfolios or distribution channels;
• Structuring joint collaborations when companies need a partner with complementary assets or want to share the risk on innovative ventures;
• Generating additional capital for organic growth and acquisitions through innovative financing, securities and capital markets structures; and
• Advising creditors, debtors and other interested parties on bankruptcy sales, restructurings and reorganizations.

With its world-class litigation capabilities, Paul, Weiss also helps media and entertainment companies successfully navigate important legal challenges, including class actions; antitrust challenges; contractual disputes; patent, copyright and trademark disputes; litigation involving patent, copyright and trademark disputes as well as licensing negotiations, including Rate Court negotiations and mechanical rate proceedings.

Our litigation team has unique expertise in the entertainment asset license rights arena. Our recent representations of musicians, songwriters and music publishers in rate-setting disputes have helped to set the precedent for the entire industry. Our expertise in this closely watched area is unmatched in the legal marketplace, and one in which we provide significant value to our clients.

Paul, Weiss works internationally with media and entertainment companies, investors and other providers of capital on transactions taking place outside the U.S., particularly in Asia.

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Industries

Communications infrastructure Digital media Film Music and music publishing Publishing Radio

Sponsors Sports Television programming and distribution Theme parks Video games

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Selected Clients

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Apollo Global Management Cablevision Systems Corporation Alibaba Group Citigroup Discovery Communications DreamWorks Animation Endgame Entertainment Ericsson General Atlantic Goldman Sachs Harbinger Capital Home Box Office Houghton Mifflin Harcourt King World Productions Lincoln Center Theater Lucasfilm Major League Baseball Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Miramax Film National Football League National Music Publishers’ Association

News Corporation New York Yankees The Nielsen Company Paramount Pictures Rockstar Games Shanghai Shendi Group Sony Sony Music Sony Pictures Sun-Times Media Tencent Holdings Thumbplay Time Warner Cable Time Warner TV Azteca Universal Studios Viacom Warner Brothers Warner Music The Weinstein Company William Morris Endeavor Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment Zagat

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Recognitions

Our Media and Entertainment Group has been consistently commended for its work.

• Chambers Asia Pacific
  • Band 1 – “(China) Technology, Media, Telecoms: Information Technology (International Firms)” (2011)
  • Band 1 practitioner – “(China) Technology, Media, Telecoms: Information Technology (International Firms)” (2011)
  • Band 1 – “(China) Technolgy, Media, Telecoms: Telecommunications & Broadcasting (International Firms)” (2011)
  • Band 1 practitioner – “(China) Technolgy, Media, Telecoms: Telecommunications & Broadcasting (International Firms)” (2011)
• Chambers USA
  • Band 1 – “(NY) Media & Entertainment: Corporate” (2011)
  • Leading firm – “(NY) Media & Entertainment: Entertainment Litigation” (2011)
  • Band 1 and other recognized practitioner – “(NY) Media & Entertainment: Corporate” (2011)
  • Band 1 practitioner – “(NY) Media & Entertainment: Film & Television” (2011)
  • Recognized practitioner – “(NY) Media & Entertainment: Copyright & Contract Disputes” (2011)
• Asian Counsel Magazine
  • “Technology, Media & Telecommunications Firm of the Year” (2010)
• Asian Legal Business
  • “IT/Telecommunications Law Firm of the Year” (2011)
• China Business Law Journal
  • “2011 Deal of the Year – Foreign Direct Investment” – Legendary Entertainment’s film JV with a mainland party (2011)
• Global Law Experts
  • “2010 Chinese Telecoms Law Firm of the Year” (2010)
• The Hollywood Reporter
  • “Power Lawyer” practitioner (2009, 2011)
• Investment Dealers' Digest
  • “Media Deal of the Year” – Digital Cinema (2011)
• The American Lawyer
  • “Dealmaker of the Year” – Time Warner (2005)

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Representative Engagements

Paul, Weiss has represented every type of talent across all media and entertainment outlets. Noteworthy representations have included:

Time Warner Cable in its $3 billion acquisition of Insight Communications Co., owned by the Carlyle Group, MidOcean Partners and Crestview Partners, in a transaction that joins two of the ten largest U.S. cable operators.

Ericsson, as part of Rockstar Bidco, a consortium of certain technology companies including Apple, Microsoft and RIM, in the $4.5 billion purchase at auction of Nortel Networks' portfolio of over 6000 patents.

Apollo Global Management in its $560 million acquisition of CKX, Inc., an entertainment business that owns rights to "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" as well as the name and likeness rights of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali.

Warner Music Group in its sale to Access Industries for $3.3 billion. Warner Music is one of the "big four" recorded music businesses, and home to the labels Warner Bros., Elektra and Atlantic. It also owns Warner/Chappell Music, the third-largest music publishing business.

Citigroup in a multibillion dollar lawsuit by the London-based private equity firm Terra Firma. Terra Firma, and its Chairman Guy Hands, claiming they were defrauded in connection with the purchase of the music company EMI in 2007. After a twelve day trial, the jury deliberated for less than five hours before returning a verdict vindicating Citigroup in all respects.

Zagat Survey, LLC, the world's most trusted source for ratings and reviews of restaurants, hotels, nightlife and other entertainment categories, in its acquisition by Google, Inc.

The co-founder of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., an Internet newspaper company, in AOL Inc.'s $315 million acquisition of The Huffington Post.

IMAX Corporation in a 75-theater joint revenue sharing agreement with Wanda Cinema Line Corporation, the largest theater operator in the People's Republic of China, and in the formation of IMAX China (Hong Kong), Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IMAX, to oversee the expansion of the rapidly growing IMAX business in the market. The agreement with Wanda Cinema Line was the company's largest international deal to date, and the second-largest in its history.

Crestview Partners in its investment of up to $500 million in equity financing to Cumulus Media Inc. as part of Cumulus's cash-and-stock acquisition of Citadel Broadcasting Corporation.

Shanghai Shendi Group in its joint venture with Disney to develop a theme park in Shanghai, China. The joint venture, ten years in the making, resulted in the first world-class and Disney-branded resort in China.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company and its affiliates in the completion of one of the largest out-of-court balance sheet restructurings. Highlights include senior secured lenders with claims in excess of $4 billion converting more than half of their debt into equity, mezzanine lenders with $2.1BN of secured debt converting all of their debt into equity and warrants to purchase additional equity in the company and a $650M rights offering to certain company lenders.

Discovery Communications in two joint ventures: a 50/50 joint venture with Oprah Winfrey and her Harpo subsidiary to launch OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network and a 50/50 joint venture with Hasbro to form “The Hub” children’s cable television network and web site.

Goldman Sachs as creditor in restructuring $750 million of debt secured by global television syndication revenue from three dramatic TV series.

American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in licensing negotiations and Rate Court litigations in the radio, television and cable television industries, the principal sources of revenue for its songwriter and music publisher members.

National Music Publishers’ Association, the Songwriters Guild of America and the Nashville Songwriters Association International, achieving a significant victory when the D.C. Circuit affirmed the rates and terms for the mechanical license under Section 115 of the Copyright Act set by the Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJ) in October 2008. The lengthy trial was the first contested mechanical rate proceeding in almost three decades.

We also represented the National Music Publishers’ Association in achieving a $130 million settlement from Bertelsmann AG on behalf of our clients, a class of songwriters and music publishers. The settlement, the largest reported recovery ever in a copyright infringement action, came after more than four years of litigation over Bertelsmann’s investment in Napster.

Sony in its $1.2 billion acquisition of Bertelsmann AG’s 50 percent stake in Sony BMG, the world’s second largest recorded music company. The music company, which has changed its name to Sony Music Entertainment, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony.

We also represented Sony in a refinancing of Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC along with pop star Michael Jackson’s estate. Sony and trusts associated with Jackson are 50/50 owners of a 4,000-song music catalog that includes 200-plus Beatles songs and hits by Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, the Everly Brothers, Jimi Hendrix and many others.

Tencent Holdings in its joint venture with Groupon Inc. to launch a group-buying services website in Mainland China.