Entertainment, Literary and Intellectual Property Law

ENTERTAINMENT LAW - FILM AND TELEVISION

Brenda Feigen specializes in the fields of entertainment, literary, sports, music and intellectual property law. Click here for representative clients.

In 1980, Ms. Feigen became associated in New York City with a large firm which later merged into one of the largest nationwide entertainment law firms, Loeb & Loeb, where she learned movie and television law. She began by servicing big production company clients, giving her necessary know-how about what they look for and how they protect themselves. After several years, Ms. Feigen went on to work in business affairs at the William Morris Agency where she specialized in motion picture literary and television packaging matters. She soon became an agent and gained clients who were actors, writers and directors. She continues with these types of clients as an attorney now in her own practice. Her emphasis remains on transactions, negotiations usually on behalf of "talent" and production companies with buyers, usually studios.

In 1990, Orion Pictures released Ms. Feigen's movie, NAVY SEALS, starring Charlie Sheen, Bill Paxton and S. Epatha Merkerson. It was her first producing experience, but it brought to her understanding of the law as it applied to big-budget movies a practical approach to assuring that deals close and movies get made. Producing a movie also provided Ms. Feigen with a complete understanding of production contracts with every type of cast and crew member and the timetable by which they must be completed.

Today, she represents many screenwriters for both television and feature films, as well as producers and directors. Ms. Feigen also represents rights owners, be they book authors or life story rights owners whose stories are to be made into films. Her clients have included actors Jane Alexander, Karen Allen, Loretta Switt and Mike Farrell, producer Stephen Haft, screenwriters Joanne Parrent, Chuck Pfarrer, Richard Murphy and assorted directors. She is presently representing a writer-producer whose action movie set in Los Angeles' inner city is about to go into production. She has worked on the financing of that project, as well as securing the rights to all necessary elements. Soon she will be negotiating a distribution deal for it. Another recent project is that of a graduate film student at USC whose documentary about South Africa requires her help for financing, rights clearances and distribution. In television, she recently negotiated a contract on behalf of a news anchor with the Fox Television Network. She also represented an executive at Warner Bros. in her contract negotiations with that studio. (See Ms. Feigen's article for the October 2003 ABA Forum on Entertainment Law: "Books Becoming Movies.")