Entertainment and Media

Our Appraoch

Our Services

Entertainment and Media

Deacons is one of Hong Kong's largest law firms established more than 150 years ago with more than 50 partners and over 200 fee earners working in its offices in central Hong Kong. Deacons is the centre of a dynamic and successful regional network which includes Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia. The firm represents a wide range of corporate and institutional clients, including many of Hong Kong's largest and prestigious companies, advising on various aspects including litigation, corporate, corporate finance, tax, financial services, intellectual property, insurance, property and employment law.

Deacons is staffed by a dynamic international mixture of locally qualified lawyers, all of whom are fluent in English. Most are also fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin.

Our Approach

• Our professionals have extensive industry-based legal and business knowledge and diverse entertainment experience backed by state of the art technology, a multi-lingual professional support team and all the resources of a full service law firm.

• Acting as advisors and counsel to major film studios and distributors, music recording and publishing companies, national broadcasters and publishers, independent film producers, directors, sales agents, film distributors, actors, recording artists, animation, internet and new media companies.

• With the continued and progressive integration of the Mainland China's entertainment industry with Asia and the rest of the world, we are able to provide a dedicated team of lawyers qualified in Mainland China as well as other jurisdictions to assist clients to successfully navigate around Mainland China's complex legal and cultural maze.

• Dedicated to forging long term relationships, assisting clients in their development and realisation of business goals and providing workable and creative solutions and advisory services in all aspects of their business.

• Deacons is proud of its long tradition and loyal clients, as well as its position as the most technologically advanced law firm in Hong Kong. Deacons has perhaps the largest dedicated Entertainment and Media practice in Hong Kong and the South East Asia Region.

Our Services

FILM & TELEVISION : Our clients range from multinational media companies, major film studios in Asia, Europe and North America, established and independent film companies, production houses and film distributors, cable and free television companies, to individual producers, actors, directors and writers. Our range of work covers development to production and sale and distribution of feature films and television programmes and the exploitation of ancillary rights including:

• Acquisition of rights including options for remake rights

• Sale and Purchase of film libraries

• Chain of title investigations

• Development arrangements including screenplays, television series, video games

• Co-productions and Production, Financing and Distribution agreements

• Engagement of talent including cast, crew and other personnel

• Dubbing and other post-production contracts

• Licensing including use of music in commercials/films, use of images of personalities, soundtracks

• Product endorsement agreements

• Sales agency and distribution arrangements

• Representation of Hong Kong's largest TV network on a range of legal issues

• Negotiating and structuring financing transactions

• Sale, purchase, restructuring and reorganization of entertainment companies

• Protection of personality rights

MUSIC : The complex nature of the music industry requires us to be both creative and industry savvy in order to provide legal as well as commercial advice to our clients (from individual artists, bands, performers to major record companies, music publishers and producers) on a range of issues including:

• Recording and publishing arrangements

• Agency and Management contracts

• Copyright protection and enforcement of rights

• Clearances for live performances, concerts etc

• Licensing, merchandising, endorsement and sponsorship

• Use of music in computer games, television programmes, films etc.

• Protection of names and reputations through passing off actions, trade mark or domain name registrations and enforcement of such rights

• Distribution of Music through traditional or new media

• Anti-piracy advice

PUBLISHING: We represent many of the major English and Chinese language newspaper and magazine publishers in Hong Kong and advise on every aspect of their business including:

• Copyright and trademark issues

• Content licensing, acquisitions and exploitation

• Defamation

• Internet law including website development, hosting and design, linking and framing, co-branding agreements, licensing of audio and video technologies

• Domain name registration and disputes

• Exploitation and protection of literary properties