Name: Legal and Business Needs for Your Media Project #ScriptDC
Start: 2022-01-25T18:30:00-0500
End: 2022-01-25T20:00:59-0500

Legal and Business Needs for Your Media Project

While every media project is different, Kurt R. Klaus, Esq. and John Aaron, CPA will present some insights producers and others involved with content creation should consider when structuring their businesses, managing intellectual property, and negotiating a production's/project's lifecycle. Whether a documentary , TV series, music, or a narrative project, you will want your business and legal affairs in place before you start production. John will also provide general comments related to the Maryland Digital Sales Tax, and Kurt will answer your general questions related to media/entertainment business and legal affairs.

Panelist Bios:

Kurt R. Klaus, Esq., is a media and entertainment business and legal affairs attorney – backed by over 25 years of in-house and private law practice experience. He is a Partner at the law firm of Dunlap, Bennett & Ludwig, where he is the Media & Entertainment Law Section lead attorney. Kurt's office is located in Washington, DC, and he is in the process of establishing an office in Nashville, Tennessee. While Kurt has represented top worldwide media companies and brands, he just as easily works with individuals and start-ups. He regularly functions as lead attorney on domestic and international media content transactions and provides creative and practical counsel with related legal and business strategies.

Kurt was Director, Business and Legal Affairs at National Geographic Channels where he structured, negotiated, and wrote many types of domestic and international production, commission, co-production, development, and distribution contracts. He was NatGeo's principal attorney for music production and music publishing matters.

Kurt has been legal counsel to brand corporate marketing departments, in-house legal departments, social media departments, deal leads of branded content, television networks, content syndication/licensing departments, independent producers, production companies, virtual and augmented reality producers, web designers, TV talent, musicians, music composers, recording studios, digital game developers, and media entrepreneurs on a wide variety of media, intellectual property, project financing, and corporate organization matters.

Prior to legal practice, Kurt was an executive in two mid-sized media production and distribution companies and functioned as a producer, assistant director, and production manager of television commercials and corporate films (140+ projects), earning 16 regional and national awards. Kurt also worked in the production departments of multiple LA-based studio feature films. In addition to a Juris Doctor, Kurt holds a M.S. in Communications (Advertising) and a B.S. in Recording Industry.

John Aaron is a CPA/MBA (Taxation) who spent his career in public practice, commercial real estate, consulting, and litigation support. He is currently in the tax department of Butler, Lavanceau & Sober, CPAs, where he provides tax and consulting services to individual and business clients.

Early in his business career his work was "telling stories with numbers". That work expanded to telling complex stories – simply - in various media. The topics ranged from commercial real estate, strategic planning, taxation, budgeting, and finance to diverse client audiences. He inaugurated an in-house taxation and finance newsletter at a national real estate services firm to help its brokers recognize client service opportunities. He prepared and presented computer graphics presentations of his analyses to major corporations. In addition, he promoted the company's brokerage, management, valuation, market research, and other real estate advisory services.

He has been very active in WIFV, serving on the Board of Directors, the Communications Committee, as a regular program attendee, and by posting tax and business articles on the WIFV.listserv and blog.

$15 for WIFV Members (must be logged in) and Students / $30 for general public
You will receive login info with your registration confirmation.

This program is sponsored by 202Creates, Interface Media Group, Maryland Film Office, OCTFME, and Virginia Film Office.

Refund Policy: Refunds are available up to 48 hours in advance of the program. No refund will be issued for a cancellation with less than 48 hours notice. If the event is cancelled or rescheduled, refunds will be issued as needed.

WIFV is committed to providing an inclusive experience for all program attendees. Please notify membership@wifv.org if you will require any accessibility services in order to participate (such as ASL interpreting, Real-Time Captioning, Large Print materials, etc.). We ask that you please request services no less than 10 days before the scheduled event.