Please join us today May 27, 10–11 a.m. (PDT) / 1–2 p.m. (EDT) for our May membership meeting, Contract Rights and Wrongs.
We are excited to announce the featured panelists for the event: Thomas Crowell (LaneCrowell LLC), Lillian Laserson (Lillian Laserson P.C.), Stuart M. Rees (Entertainment Attorney), Skinner (Artist), and Robyn Williams (Devlin Law Firm).
Interim Director Jeff Trexler will moderate the discussion that will cover topics like ownership, royalties, video, merchandising, and much more!
Our panelists will clarify the ins and outs of contracts while bringing their insights from both the legal and creator perspective. We’ll be ending the meeting with an open Q&A session. It will be the perfect opportunity to have your contract questions answered.
If you have any questions or suggestions of topics to cover, please reach out to us at feedback@cbldf.org. We’d love to hear from you!
Click Here to Register
We look forward to seeing you there!
Featured Panelists
Thomas Crowell
I’m a partner with the law firm of LaneCrowell LLP (www.lanecrowell.com) where I counsel clients on a wide range of entertainment law and intellectual property rights issues. My clients range from award-winning comic book publishers to the creators of some of the world’s best-known superheroes; from television production companies to independent film producers; from videogame companies to sculptors, painters, magicians and 80’s cover bands.
My clients’ work is seen in the pages of Marvel and DC comics and on movie, TV, computer, and mobile screens across the world.
My latest book is “The Pocket Lawyer for Comic Book Creators” (Focal Press, 2014) — is the very first dedicated legal guide for the comic book industry.
Lillian Laserson
Lillian Laserson is a sole practitioner representing artists, writers, producers, publishers, and others in transactional matters primarily involving comic book publishing, licensing, copyright and entertainment law.
Prior to forming her own firm, Lillian was Senior Vice President and General Counsel of DC Comics where she established and ran the company’s in-house legal department for twenty years. She began working in the area of character rights when she joined Jim Henson Productions as the company’s Associate General Counsel and became Kermit and Miss Piggy’s go-to girl for legal and business affairs.
Stu Rees
Stu Rees graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1997. He opened his San Diego based solo practice in 2000. Stu developed a niche in the Intellectual Property field, specializing in the needs of syndicated newspaper cartoonists.
Notably, Stu has represented more than 200 cartoonists in their negotiations with the major newspaper comic strip syndicates, and more than 500 cartoonists and writers in a mix of online, licensing, greeting card, book, television and movie deals. He also handles copyright and trademark filings.
In 2007, Stu earned the National Cartoonists Society’s prestigious Silver T-Square Award for legal services provided to the organization and its member cartoonists.
Skinner
Oakland based artist Skinner creates psychedelic nightmare paintings, otherworldly animation, toys, murals and more. Commercial work for Warner Bros, Adult Swim, Vans, Apple, Quentin Tarantino, Fender guitars, and Juxtapoz built a client list to balance out the psychedelic, graphic experimentations he is known for.
Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams is an Associate at Devlin Law Firm LLC. During law school, Ms. Williams worked as a law clerk in the Intellectual Property Group for a top-ranked law firm in the areas of intellectual property litigation and trademark law. She was also an intern in the Global Patents Group at GlaxoSmithKline.
Ms. Williams’s practice focuses on intellectual property and business matters. Ms. Williams assists clients with growth and protection for their business, wherever it is in development, by offering tailored business plans or prospectuses, entity formation, contracts, as well as managing their intellectual property and brand portfolios.