We handle all types of profit participation cases. Recently, there have been several cases involving “vertical integration” where a parent company owns 1) the production company that made a television series and sells the series to a network, and 2) the network that bought the television series. Disputes often arise between talent and the parent company’s affiliates over whether the license fee for each episode was an arms-length transaction that reflects fair market value, which is important because the talent frequently is entitled to contingent compensation based on the license fee.
Due to consolidation in the entertainment industry and the massive profits that a successful television series can generate, there is no shortage of these cases. We handle profit participation cases on behalf of:
- Writers
- Showrunners
- Producers
- Actors
- Studios
Profit participation cases are complex and require an in-depth knowledge of studio accounting and a good working relationship with top notch forensic accountants and auditors, and we have both.
Our Results
We represented the Italian producer of the classic motion pictures The Good the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, and Last Tango in Paris in a profit participation case against MGM that recently settled on a confidential basis.