U.S. HISPANIC
Copyright Consulting: The advent of OTTs forced us to reinvent legal services in entertainment
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 18 de enero de 2023
Jennifer Robles Oscar Ibarrola
Legal counseling is key in the audiovisual industry when creating and distributing a project, and there are few specialized firms on this subject; one of them is Copyright Consulting, founded by Jennifer Robles and Óscar Ibarrola. Both talked about the service they provide to their clients through the different production processes, highlighting that not only the way of creating content has changed, but also the legal services in this matter, partly triggered by the arrival and boom of OTT platforms.
“We provide legal production services, that is our main offer. We get involved from pre-production, in each stage, including contract negotiations, and when filming starts. We have an implant scheme where we assign one or two lawyers 24/7 on set or locations for any contingency. Other services are Clearance, Legal Delivery, and Business and legal affairs, in addition to those of intellectual property and copyright,” commented Robles.
Ibarrola pointed out that each of these services is focused on different types of clients, being the operation and legal services for a production directed to a production house. However, “regarding Clearance it also includes streaming platforms because it is a detailed review service from the script to produced material, we ensure that the content comes to life in compliance with the legal parameters, without affecting privacy rights, author, etc., so the project is free of claims. In Business and legal affairs, we counsel our clients in the core business of entertainment, that is, legal and business, and here is where a whole range opens up because we can work for production houses, in development, co-production, or production deals for an original; for streaming platforms in the acquisition of an option or individually advising an actor, director, producer or writer who have original ideas and want to sell their idea.”
With five years of experience in intellectual property for the audiovisual industry, Copyright Consulting has clients such as Non Stop, Dopamine, Endemol Shine, Exile Content, Fremantle Media, and other production houses in productions such as Hernán, LOL, Amarres, and Búnker.
For the managers, who have a little less than 10 years in entertainment legal issues, the audiovisual industry has changed much in recent years and this has forced them to think and create new work dynamics: “The world of entertainment has transformed in every respect with the advent of OTT, that forced us to enhance quality not only of the content but of everything around it. These platforms came with protocols that guarantee the best local and international practices because their content travels the world. In the case of legal services, we had to reinvent, understand the reason for many streamer requirements,” added Óscar, who added that beyond the fact that legal issues in this sector are seen as creative brakes, “our goal is the creative and commercial sensitivity.”
Jennifer stated that in order to achieve each of the objectives and comply with the service offer, the training of her work team – ten lawyers -, is constant, achieving not only advice and counseling, but also designing production manuals, processes, and policies to be continuously updated.
“Our concern is to take them on the right path. Sometimes it is easier to go for what is practical and fast, but that is not necessarily the right thing to do because the implications could knock on our door in the future,” she concluded.
