Academics > LL.M. Emphasis Options > Entertainment & Media Law Chapman University School of Law
 
 
    Program Requirements

LL.M. in ENTERTAINMENT & MEDIA LAW,

In a field like Entertainment Law, it is vital not only to develop and enhance one's legal skills, but also to make lasting impressions and connections with those who have insight and experience in the entertainment industry. Chapman's LL.M. in Entertainment & Media Law lets students access a complete film & television school - the http://ftv.chapman.edu/ - and our close proximity to the "entertainment capital of the world" gives students a distinct advantage making these connections. Our LL.M. program lets students pursue not only traditional Entertainment Law courses, but also lets students take valuable, in-depth courses in our film school. A student who exploits this unique combination of curriculum may have a competitive edge in this field.

Credits

Twenty-four (24) units of credit are required to obtain the LL.M. degree. Full-time students may enroll in a minimum of nine (9) and a maximum of fourteen (14) units per semester. To receive financial aid, a student must be enrolled in a minimum of five (5) units per semester. Degree requirements must be completed within four (4) years.

Core Courses

The LL.M. degree in Entertainment and Media Law requires completion of two or three required core courses. Introduction to American Law, a two credit course taught at before the beginning of each fall semester, is required of all foreign lawyers with a degree from a non-common law jurisdiction or law school.

In addition, all LL.M. students are expected to complete a substantial writing project, and recommended to consider completing this requirement through Directed Research. Students also are strongly encouraged to pursue experiential learning opportunities, either through enrollment in an externship for credit (normally 3 to 5 cr.), or through other volunteer or paid employment.

Transfer Credits

In some circumstances, student may receive credits toward the LL.M. degree for courses taken before matriculation into the LL.M. Program, and for courses taken at another law school or in Chapman University School of Law's J.D. curriculum after matriculation into the Program. The grades in such courses are ignored in determining whether the student's grade point average satisfies the LL.M. degree requirements.

A student may petition to receive up to six (6) credits toward the degree for certain LL.M. level courses or advanced J.D. level courses taken at any ABA-accredited law school during the three academic years preceding matriculation into the Program and within five years of completing the Program, provided in the case of each course that (1) the course is determined to be equivalent to a course or courses currently included in the LL.M. curriculum and (2) the student received at least a grade of "B" or the equivalent in the course. Applicants requesting such credit should so indicate when applying for admission and provide a syllabus or other description of the material covered in the course for which such transfer credit is sought. In no case will credit be given for extension or correspondence courses. In unusual cases, a student may petition the Director of the Program in order to request additional transfer credits.

With the approval of the Director, a student may petition to receive up to twelve (12) credits toward the degree for LL.M. level courses or advanced J.D. level courses equivalent to courses currently in the LL.M. curriculum taken at Chapman University School of Law during the three academic years preceding matriculation into the Program and within five years of completing the Program, provided the student received at least a grade of "B" in the course for which credit is sought. With the prior approval of the Director and for good causes shown, a matriculated student may receive up to six (6) credits in the aggregate for LL.M. level courses taken at another ABA-accredited law school and courses taken in the Chapman University School of Law J.D. curriculum, provided the student receives at least a grade of "B" or the equivalent in each such course.

Grading

There is no mandatory grading curve for LL.M. courses. Instructors in courses with both J.D. and LL.M. students will be asked to grade the two groups of students separately unless granted a waiver of the J.D. mandatory grading curve by the Associate Dean in accordance with existing rules.



Admission

Admission to the Program will be open to graduates of ABA-accredited American law schools or foreign equivalents. An application must include law school and college transcripts, a resume or c.v., two (2) letters of recommendation, and a personal statement outlining the student's preparation, interests, and goals for graduate study.

An applicant will only be admitted if the applicant's record, viewed as a whole, indicates that the applicant is likely to complete the Program successfully. The applicant's academic record (at the undergraduate, graduate, and law level) and relevant experience are the primary factors considered.

At this time, the curriculum design and schedule assume that students will begin the Program in the fall semester (except for those foreign lawyers who begin with the summer course). Thus, no applications will be accepted for spring entry. The priority deadline for admissions is March 1, with a final deadline of June 1. Foreign lawyers are especially encouraged to submit their applications as early as possible, in order to ensure enough time for the processing of student F-1 visas.

For Foreign Lawyers:

Foreign students who have not studied or received a degree at either an English language law school or university must complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 600 on the paper-based test, 250 on the computer-based test, or 100 on the Internet-based test.

In addition, those students who do not possess a J.D. or LL.M. degree from either an American, Canadian, or other common law jurisdiction law school will be required to take a two-week summer course, Introduction to American Law, designed exclusively for LL.M. students and taught by the Director of Graduate Studies, supplemented by the participation of other Chapman faculty and staff. This course will include a substantial component on legal research and writing in the American context, and would begin in early August, leading directly into the Law School's two-day orientation program in mid-August.



Faculty


Tom W. Bell
Professor of Law

Email: tbell@chapman.edu
Phone: (714) 628-2503

 

 


Professor Bell joined the faculty of Chapman University School of Law in 1998. He specializes in high-tech legal issues and has written a variety of papers on Intellectual Property and Internet Law. Professor Bell received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School in 1993, where he served both as a member of the University of Chicago Law Review and as Articles Editor and cofounder of the University of Chicago Legal Roundtable. After graduating from law school, Professor Bell joined the Silicon Valley law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He entered teaching in 1995, when he became an Assistant Professor of Law in the Law and Technology Program at the University of Dayton School of Law. During a one year leave of absence from that school, and just prior to joining the Chapman faculty, he served as Director of Telecommunications and Technology Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. In addition to writing a steady stream of scholarly works, Professor Bell has appeared on or been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Los Angeles Times, and many other news sources. He teaches Intellectual Property, Internet Law, Advanced Seminar on Copyright Law, Entertainment Law, International Entertainment Law, Tort Law, Contract Law, and Agency and Partnership.

Courses Taught: Intellectual Property, Internet Law, Advanced Seminar on Copyright Law, Entertainment Law, International Entertainment Law, Tort Law, Contract Law, and Agency and Partnership

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Kathy Z. Heller,
Assistant Clinical Professor of Entertainment Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866
Phone:  Fax:
Email:

 


B.S., University of Wisconsin
J.D., University of Wisconsin School of Law

Kathy Z. Heller earned her undergraduate degree in education and her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Wisconsin. She began her legal career as assistant counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Criminal Justice where her responsibilities included hearings and legislation on revisions to Title 18 of the U.S. Code (Crimes and Criminal Procedure), the U.S. Sentencing Commission, Pretrial Services and the federal death penalty. She then moved across Capital Hill to serve as counsel to the full Senate Judiciary Committee and counsel to the subcommittees with jurisdiction over immigration, criminal justice, security and terrorism, and intellectual property. She then went to London, England and served as Assistant General Counsel at United International Pictures, the foreign distribution company for MGM, United Artists, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, where her work included copyright, corporate, and employment law as well as negotiation and drafting of motion picture acquisition and distribution agreements. Upon her return to the United States, she was Vice President and Special Counsel for Congressional Relations at the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., where she coordinated the formulation of policy and lobbying for the major U.S. motion picture studios. Since 1993 she has been in private practice representing corporations that provide products and services related to the entertainment industry, and corporations and individuals engaged in domestic and international media production and distribution. In January 2006 she became the Director of the Media and Public Interest Institute at Chapman University’s Lawrence and Kristina Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. She is a member of Women in Film and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts/Los Angeles.


Steven G. Krone
Visiting Associate Professor of Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866
Phone:  Fax:
Email:


A.B., University of Southern California
J.D. (with honors), University of Chicago School of Law

Steven G. Krone received an A.B. in Cinema- Television Production from the University of Southern California film school and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Abner J. Mikva of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and to JusticesWilliam J. Brennan, Jr. and David H. Souter of the Supreme Court of the United States. He has previously taught entertainment law courses as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago and the University of Southern California.

Professor Krone is an independent film financier and media and entertainment financing consultant. He was most recently President & Chief Operating Officer of Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment, the pre-eminent independent production company in Hollywood. He joined VRP in 1998 as Executive Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs, became its Chief Operating Officer one year later, and President in 2003. During his nine-year tenure, Village Roadshow Pictures amassed an impressive library of nearly fifty titles, including The Matrix trilogy, Ocean’s Eleven and Ocean’s Twelve, Analyze This, Three Kings, Training Day, Space Cowboys, Zoolander, Mystic River, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Happy Feet. Professor Krone is quick to admit that the VRP filmography also includes a few less auspicious projects, including the very, very bad Catwoman and the utterly unwatchable The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

Prior to joining Village Roadshow Pictures, Professor Krone was an attorney at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown in Beverly Hills, where he represented a variety of the firm’s clients, including film and television producers, directors, writers, actors and executives.

Professor Krone teaches the foundation Entertainment Law course and a seminar on Law, Lawyers, and the Legal System in Film, both of which are cross-listed with the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts."


  John Tehranian
Professor of Law
Director, Entertainment Law Program

Email: tehrania@chapman.edu
Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive,
Orange, California  92866


Professor Tehranian joined Chapman in 2008 as a Professor of Law and Director of the law school's Entertainment Law Center. Before joining Chapman, he was a Professor of Law at the University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law. He received his A.B. magna cum laude from Harvard University, where he was awarded the Palfrey Exhibition Prize for the most distinguished scholar in the senior class and the John Harvard Scholarship and Detur Prize for academic performance of the highest distinction, and his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal and the Yale Journal of Law and Humanities and a senior editor of the Yale Law & Policy Review. He is also an experienced entertainment and intellectual property litigator, having represented prominent Hollywood, publishing, new media and technology clients at O’Melveny & Myers LLP and Turner Green LLP. Tehranian’s scholarship focuses on the interface between law and culture, with a particular focus on issues of intellectual property, entertainment and race. He is the author of the book Whitewashed (New York University Press, 2009), an analysis of the social and legal construction of race and the malleable concept of whiteness through history, and the forthcoming book Infringement Nation (Oxford University Press, 2010), an examination of copyright pervasiveness and reform in the digital age. His articles have appeared in such publications as the Yale Law Journal, U.C. Davis Law Review, Berkeley Technology Law Journal, Journal of Intellectual Property Law, B.Y.U. Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, Utah Law Review, University of Cincinnati Law Review, University of Hawai'i Law Review and Legal Times.

A frequent commentator on legal issues for the broadcast and print media, Tehranian has appeared on such television programs as ABC's Nightline and has been quoted as an expert on legal issues in such publications as The New York Times, Harper's Magazine, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times, Hollywood Reporter and Christian Science Monitor. He has also served as an expert witness in numerous intellectual property and civil rights infringement suits.

Professor Tehranian remains actively involved in pro bono legal work, with a particular focus on cases involving immigrants, civil rights plaintiffs, and indigent criminal defendants. He has successfully handled numerous appeals in the federal circuit courts on behalf of political asylum seekers from such countries as Columbia, Romania, and Iraq. He has litigated constitutional cases related to free speech, religious establishment, free assembly, due process, race discrimination, gender discrimination, and privacy rights. He has also has served as a court-appointed public defender in numerous criminal appeals.

Courses Taught: Entertainment Law, Intellectual Property, Constitutional Law, Cyberlaw, and Law & Literature


Adjunct Faculty

William B. Bunker
Adjunct Professor of Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866


Mr. Bunker is a partner at the highly regarded Newport Beach firm, Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, where he specializes in intellectual property law.  He has written and lectured frequently on intellectual property law and has served as a legal expert witness in various intellectual property matters.  Mr. Bunker received his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from California Polytechnic University Pomona and his Juris Doctor from Brigham Young University.
COURSES TAUGHT:  Patents and Trade Secrets


Thomas Gray
Adjunct Professor of Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866


Mr. Gray, of counsel in the Orange County office of Orrick, is a member of the firm's Intellectual Property Group. He focuses on intellectual property litigation with an emphasis on trade secret litigation and counseling. Mr. Gray received his J.D., cum laude, from Santa Clara University School of Law where he was the Senior Articles Editor, Santa Clara Law Review. He received his B.A., in Economics, University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Gray also clerked for the Hon. Ronald M. Whyte of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and the Hon. Martin J. Jenkins, United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

Howard C. Hay

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866


B.A. Duke University
J.D. University of Michigan Law School, Magna Cum Laude

Howard C. Hay, is a former partner with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. Mr. Hay spent the last 38 years litigating and resolving every kind of employment and labor law matter. He is the only employment lawyer in Orange County who has been selected for inclusion in all fourteen editions of The Best Lawyers in America, which speaks volumes about his dedication and professionalism. Mr. Hay is known for his fairness, intelligence and effective demeanor.

Mr. Hay taught at Cornell Law School as the visiting Distinguished Practitioner in 2001 and currently teaches at Chapman Law School. He is a member of the American Law Institute Board of Advisors for its Restatement of Employment Law project. Mr. Hay was the moderator of the California State Bar's "Recent Developments in Employment Law" program in Orange County for 16 years. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the Labor and Employment Section of the State Bar of California, and was Co-Chair of the Special Committee formed by the California Bar Association to study wrongful termination litigation and legislation. He has authored chapters of Schlei and Grossman, Employment Discrimination Law (BNA 1976, 1979 and 1983 Editions), Advising California Employers (CEB 1981 and 1996), Wrongful Employment Termination Practice (CEB 1987 and 1997), Sexual Harassment in Employment Law (BNA 1992) and several articles in the Orange County Bar Journal.

Mr. Hay has extensive experience in mediations, arbitrations, wrongful termination litigation, discrimination/harassment prevention and litigation, employment policies and handbooks, EEOC, DFEH, and wage/hour matters, federal and state court litigation, and NLRB and related union matters.


Kyhm Penfil
Adjunct Professor of Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866
Phone:  Fax:
Email:


Ms. Penfil is Associate Counsel to the Chancellor at The University of California, Irvine, where she advises the Chancellor, Provost, Vice Chancellors and Deans on a broad range of legal issues. She formerly was a partner at Irell & Manella LLP, where her practice focused on intellectual property litigation at the trial and appellate level. Her publications include “In The Light of Reason and Experience: Should Federal Evidence Law Protect Confidential Communications Between Same-Sex Partners?” 88 Marquette L. Rev. 815 (Spring 2005). Law & Politics Magazine and Los Angeles Magazine have twice named Ms. Penfil one of the Top 50 Female Superlawyers in Southern California and one of the Top 50 Superlawyers in Orange County. Ms. Penfil earned her J.D., Order of the Coif, from The University of Southern California, where she served on the Southern California Law Review, and her A.B. in Art and Architectural History from Wellesley College. She serves on the board of the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County and Long Beach. Ms. Penfil previously was an art historian at the Wildenstein gallery in New York.
COURSES TAUGHT: Copyright Law, Ninth Circuit Appellate Law Clinic, Trademark Law

J.D. Sanchez
Adjunct Professor of Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866


J.D. Sanchez has worked at Professional Sports Planners since 1996, when he started as an intern for Michael while attending California State University Long Beach. After receiving his degree in Political Science in 1997, cum laude J.D. was hired full-time and began his career as a sports agent. He became one of the youngest certified agents in Major League Baseball when he was certified by the Major League Baseball Players Association in 1998. While working full-time at Professional Sports Planners, J.D. attended law school at night and received his Juris Doctorate from Whittier College School of Law. He has negotiated numerous amateur draft and major league contracts on behalf of Professional Sports Planners' clients.

Brian Walton
Adjunct Professor of Law

Chapman University School of Law
One University Drive, Orange, California  92866


Mr. Walton has held many positions in entertainment law including serving as Executive Director of the Writers Guild of America and of the Producers Guild of America. He has also worked with the Screen Actors Guild. Walton received his BA from Brigham Young University and his JD from the University of Utah College of Law.



LL.M. in Entertainment & Media Law REQUIRED COURSES

COPYRIGHT LAW (3 credits)

ENTERTAINMENT LAW (3 credits)
This course explores legal issues connected with the development, production, and exploitation of entertainment product, focusing predominantly on filmed entertainment and news media, to some extent on musical compositions and recordings, and incidentally on other forms of entertainment. Topics include life story and personality rights (defamation, invasion of privacy, etc.); celebrity publicity rights; profit participations; collective bargaining agreements and artistic credits; non-copyright protection of ideas; contract formation and duration; ethics and regulation of talent representatives such as agents, lawyers, and managers; and selected copyright and trademark issues. Copyright is not a prerequisite, and this class should not be considered as a replacement for the copyright course.

ELECTIVE COURSES

ACCOUNTING FOR LAWYERS (2 credits)
This course represents an introduction to accounting for students with little background in the field. Initial emphasis is on established accounting principles and the analysis of financial statements. The course's perspective is that of a business attorney using financial statements to advise clients in various legal settings (e.g., the drafting of buy-sell agreements and the valuation of businesses). Students are expected to consider state and federal privileges between accountants and their clients, as well as the professional responsibility of an attorney to a corporate client.

ADVANCED TOPICS IN COPYRIGHT LAW (2-3 credits)
This course offers an in-depth analysis of the rights and remedies afforded to copyright owners under U.S. law.

ADVANCED TOPICS IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (2-3 credits)
This advanced course in intellectual property may cover topics such as patent and trade secret law, biotechnology law, copyright law, or trademarks and unfair competition.

ART AND CULTURAL PROPERTY LAW (2-3 credits)
In this interdisciplinary course we explore how the law shapes and constrains artistic expression. We will focus on the censorship of art, as well as moral rights, the right of publicity, and issues that arise in the art market: stolen art, forgeries, authentication, and agreements for the transfer and commission of works of art. The class frequently considers contemporary art controversies as a means of examining these broader issues. We will also discuss the protection of Indigenous cultural resources and religions, including tangible and intellectual cultural property, its identity, ownership, appropriation and repatriation. We will examine the various domestic legal regimes as they concern areas of Indigenous cultural property, focusing on the preservation of the cultural property of groups as a means to maintain group identity, and assert sovereignty and self-determination. (Prerequisite: IP).

ENTERTAINMENT CONTRACTS AND NEGOTIATIONS (3 credits)
This seminar offers an overview of entertainment law as it relates specifically to negotiating contracts in the entertainment industry. Negotiations will be analyzed from the point of view various parties, including talent, studios, independent producers, writers, financiers and distributors. Students will review and negotiate contracts which may include: purchasing a screenplay, securing services from actors, directors, and other film and television talent, and licensing the use of pre-recorded music. Students will also learn the basic terms for production, financing and distribution agreements, the role of the various unions and guilds, and explore the role of 'new media' in contract negotiations and drafting.

FILM AND TELEVISION LAW (2-3 credits)
This course offers a detailed look at how the law affects the development, financing, and distribution of motion pictures and television programs. Because contracts play an especially important role in this field, the course will emphasize how people in the film and television business negotiate, draft, and interpret agreements. The course also examines the background rules, such as intellectual property and labor laws, that shape those agreements. Rather than court opinions arising out of litigation, the course will focus on case studies illustrating the law's role in the film and television industry.

FIRST AMENDMENT LAW (3 credits)
This course is a study of the fundamental freedoms of speech, press, association, and religion. In addition to considering the historical background, the course focuses on specific challenges in First Amendment jurisprudence, including regulation of speech in a public forum, access to the media, regulation of the press, symbolic expression, libel, obscenity, commercial speech, picketing, right of association, loyalty oaths, legislative investigations and government demands for information, separation of church and state, free exercise of religion, state aid to religious schools, and regulation of religion-based conduct.

GAMBLING LAW (2-3 credits)
This course covers the law and policy of regulating gambling, one of the fastest growing segments of the entertainment industry. The course will examine the history and current development of, as well as possible future changes to, gambling regulation in California, the United States, and other parts of the world. Topics discussed will include casino gambling, lotteries, pari-mutuel wagering, sports-betting, Indian gaming, and Internet gambling.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (3 credits)
This course surveys the primary types of intellectual property under federal and state law. It emphasizes trademarks, copyrights, and patents while also addressing unfair competition, rights of publicity, trade secrets, and protection of designs. The course analyzes the rights and remedies associated with each type of intellectual property that it covers, as well as the relationships between different types of intellectual property.

INTERNATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (2-3 credits)
This is the introductory course in international law, covering the nature and sources of international law and its major developments. This course introduces students to the basic law of the international organizational system, including the United Nations and UN specialized agencies. The course introduces concepts of international law and how they achieve legitimacy in the international system through United Nations organs and conferences, the International Court of Justice, the International Law Commission, treaty bodies, and state practice. The law of foreign sovereign immunity and the act of state doctrine are considered along with the role of international law in the U.S. legal system and the allocation of foreign affairs powers between the President and Congress. Selected topics that may be explored include international claims (including expropriation law), human rights, norms governing the use of force, and the law of the sea and environmental issues.

LABOR LAW (3 credits)
This course examines the statutes, judicial decisions, and decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) affecting employer/union relations. Topics include the union election process and other means to determine whether employees want to be represented by a union; collective bargaining negotiations between unions and employers; union strikes, picketing, and boycotts, and employer lockouts and other responses to union activity; and the impact of these laws on business mergers and acquisitions.

LAW AND AMERICAN CULTURE (2-3 credits)
This course explores both the historic and contemporary relationship between law and American culture with emphasis upon the impact of change. Focus is upon news reporting, film, theatre, literature and art. Students prepare and present a paper on selected topics including historic events, contemporary films, legal myths and legends, the evolving nature of the legal profession, and the legal challenges of change.

MOVIE MAKING AND THE LAW (2-3 credits)
This course provides a detailed review and analysis of the contracts involved in the making of a documentary, short film, low budget feature film, or big budget studio film. Students will have hands-on experience with contracts from the inception of an idea for a film to pre-production, production and distribution, including contract drafting and negotiations. The attorney's role throughout the movie making process will be examined. Students may have the opportunity to draft contracts for films currently being produced by Masters of Film Arts (MFA) students from Chapman's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

MUSIC PUBLISHING AND LICENSING (2-3 credits)
This course explores the contractual issues that surround the publishing and licensing of music, spoken word, and music synchronized with moving pictures. Students will study general copyright issues, publishing and administration, licensing, performing rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI, etc.), and digital (internet) rights. Students will apply skills learned in intellectual property, agency, and other introductory courses. Topics within the course can include: sources of music - writers vs. publishers; commercials & jingles, copyright filing; mechanical, synchronization and master licensing; residual royalties; establishing & administering a publishing company; music libraries; sub-publishing; public domain works; foreign royalties; venue licenses; and producer points. To fully understand these topics students may be exposed to an overview of record label positions, (music director, music supervisor, director, contractors, A&R, copyists, marketing, promotion, publicity, etc.), AFM agreements, sessions sheets, sample re-use fees, compilation albums and soundtracks. (Required Prerequisite: IP; Recommended Prerequisite: Agency & Partnership)

NEW MEDIA AND THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY (2-3 credits)
In this course students will examine some of the newest media formats such as cell phones, ipods, digital cinema, video games and the Internet and their impact on traditional systems of media production and distribution. Topics may include the effect of new technology on the value of libraries and catalogues of older media, the impact on film and television, and protection of copyright and intellectual property. Course speakers may include industry representatives and practicing entertainment law attorneys.

PATENTS AND TRADE SECRETS (2 credits)
This advanced course in intellectual property covers topics related to patents and trade secrets.

SPORTS LAW (2-3 credits)
This course will cover selected legal issues in amateur and professional sports including player draft and option systems; labor and employment relations in professional sports; eligibility and discipline issues; agents and player representation; inter-league disputes; buying and moving teams; sex discrimination in sports; and Olympic competition.

TAXATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (1-2 credits)
This course examines the special tax rules affecting the development of, investment in, and transactions involving copyrights, trademarks, trade names, patents, trade secrets and other forms of intellectual property. The course will discuss the issues that face the creative person (such as an inventor, writer, composer or artist) and those who finance, invest in or use the intellectual property. (Prerequisite: Income Taxation for LL.M. Students.)

TRADEMARKS AND UNFAIR COMPETITION (2 credits)
This advanced course in intellectual property covers topics related to trademarks and unfair competition.

VIDEO GAMES AND THE LAW (2-3 credits)
The course addresses the wide variety of legal issues that affect the video game industry, a large and growing part of the entertainment world. In covering the creation of video games, the course discusses the impact of intellectual property rights, employment and labor regulations, and content and cross-licensing agreements. In terms of marketing, the course examines how far the First Amendment goes in protecting video games from censorship. The use of video games raises still other topics for the course to consider, such as video game makers' tort liability for real-world wrongs and players' rights to virtual property. (Recommended Prerequisite: IP)

WORKING WITH FILMMAKERS (3 credits)
This course will provide students with the opportunity to work with low budget independent filmmakers. Students will apply the drafting and negotiating skills learned in Movie Making and the Law to prepare documents and contracts as may be needed for acquisition of rights, financing, and production - including hiring talent and crew and releases. The films will be chosen based upon recommendations from entertainment industry organizations such as the Directors Guild of America, Women in Film and the American Film Institute. Students will meet to discuss drafting and negotiating challenges and issues and the role of the production attorney in advising a filmmaker or production company. Prerequisite is Movie Making and the Law.



Contact Us

Chapman University School of Law
LL.M. Programs
One University Drive
Orange, CA 92866
(714) 628-2635
(714) 628-2655 fax
llm@chapman.edu

 
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