Entertainment, Art, & Sports Law

Wide Range of Experience

Thomas & LoCicero's lawyers help entertainment industry businesses and professionals in a full range of legal areas relating to contract negotiation, licensing, copyright and trademark registration and protection, and rights of publicity and privacy. We have represented book publishers and authors, musicians, composers, artists, on-air talent, film and theater production companies, managers, and agents. When a client needs help on an entertainment or art-related project, we provide timely and knowledgeable legal counsel.

Entertainment, arts, and sports industry professionals often seek our assistance on transactional matters - i.e., helping them put together a deal. In this context, Thomas & LoCicero lawyers have reviewed manuscripts and provided pre-publication review of numerous fiction and non-fiction books, have represented advertisers in contract negotiations with television stars, and have negotiated agreements between artists and agents. We also have negotiated contracts with professional sports teams. Of course, when disputes arise, we have the know-how and experience to provide top level litigation representation to our entertainment and sports clients. For instance:

In 1988, our lawyers sought injunctive relief against the banning of the film The Last Temptation of Christ in Pensacola, Florida. Within 24 hours of being retained, our team persuaded a federal judge to rule that the county ordinance banning the film violated the First Amendment and to enter a permanent injunction against its enforcement. Legal fees were recovered from the local government as a result of the constitutional violation.

Our attorneys successfully defended the producers of the film The Perfect Storm against a lawsuit brought by the family members of the deceased sailors portrayed in the film. Tyne v. Time-Warner Entertainment Co., 901 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 2005).

On behalf of several prominent media companies, we filed an amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief in a case involving a publisher's right to publish the book Wind Done Gone, a parody of the novel Gone with the Wind. The position we advocated was accepted by the court, which permitted publication to go forward. Suntrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin Co., 268 F.3d 1257 (11th Cir. 2001).

Contact us to learn more about our successful representation of some of the most successful entertainment companies and professionals in Florida and the southeastern United States.