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Legal & Business Bootcamp for Arts Professionals™

VLA Legal and Business Bootcamp for Arts Professionals™ is a comprehensive program about the legal and business issues that affect individual artists and individuals within organizations and cultural institutions.

Upcoming: New York, NY
Saturday, October 18, 2008

Location: White & Case, 1155 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10036

Time: 10am to 5pm

For more information on this program, please visit our Bootcamp website at: http://www.vlany.org/bootcamp/

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Contrabrand: Art, Advertising and Property in the Age of Corporate Identity*

A lecture by Sonia Katyal**, Associate Professor of Law, Fordham Law School

In her talk, based on her forthcoming book from Yale Press, Contrabrand, Katyal will focus on the intersection of art, advertising, and intellectual property within the First Amendment, and to show how the law has shifted in response to accord with the constitutional challenges the branding movement has created. The greatest threat to cultural and artistic freedom, Contrabrand points out, stems not from the pervasive power of the government, but instead from the powerful reach of corporate control over artistic and consumer response. In her talk, Katyal will focus on a particular movement in popular art and culture, what she calls “anti-branding,” which she defines to include the expressive activities of artists and activists who direct their energies towards challenging corporate branding. Andy Warhol’s Campbell soup can is perhaps an older example of anti-branding; today, other artists like Bettye Saar, Esther Hernandez, and Hank Willis Thomas use brands to comment on the intersection of race, gender, and corporate identification.

Katyal will explore how brands occupy our everyday existence, as well as explain the massive cultural shift that is being played out in countless courtrooms across America, where ordinary consumers and artists have been sued by corporations for their anti-branding activities. According to the Supreme Court, artistic expression is entitled to the highest possible First Amendment protection, equivalent in power and protection to that of the purest political speech. Yet the picture suddenly changes when brands—literally—enter the fray. While the law normally protects the freedom of individuals to speak and to express themselves, those freedoms generally stop short when they conflict with the intellectual property rights of others, particularly where logos and brands are concerned. Rather than equating these projects as art, or as another form of protected political speech, judges sometimes adopt a significantly less protective response, and find evidence of infringement as a result. However, as Katyal will ultimately reveal, the expansion of intellectual property law has ushered us into a disturbingly overprotective regime that often risks sacrificing social commentary for the protection of the brand itself.

**BIO: Professor Katyal teaches in the areas of intellectual property, property and civil rights at Fordham Law School. Before coming to Fordham, Professor Katyal was an associate specializing in intellectual property litigation in the San Francisco office of Covington & Burling. She received her A.B. from Brown University in 1993, and her J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School in 1998. After law school, Prof. Katyal clerked for the Honorable Carlos Moreno (now a California Supreme Court Justice) in the Central District of California from 1998-99 and the Honorable Dorothy Nelson in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from 1999-2000.

Prof. Katyal's scholarly work focuses on intellectual property, civil rights, and new media. Her current projects study the relationship between copyright enforcement and privacy (as applied to peer-to-peer technology); and the impact of artistic expression and parody on corporate identity, advertising, and brand equity. She also works on issues relating to intellectual property and indigenous people's rights, with a special focus on cultural property in the United States and abroad. Katyal is also the winner of three awards for her scholarly work: her paper, "Exporting Identity," received a Dukeminier Award in 2002; in 2004, another paper, "The New Surveillance," won the Yale Cybercrime Award.

Her most recent paper, "Semiotic Disobedience," was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2006 Scholarly Papers Competition by the American Association of Law Schools, and was recently profiled in the New York Times Magazine. In March of 2008, Katyal was awarded a grant from the Warhol Foundation for her book, Anti-Branding, which studies the relationship between art, advertising and intellectual property. Katyal is the first law professor to receive a grant through The Creative Capital/ Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant, a program created to support independent, progressive arts publications and individual arts writers.

*There are 2.0 CLE credits for this lecture.

When: Monday, November 24, 2008: 6-8pm ( reception at 5:30)
Where: VLA, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY 10022 (auditorium)
Fees:
Artist/Student: $10 for VLA members, $15 non-members
Legal Professional: $100 for VLA members, $125 non-members

This VLA lecture is open to the public. Attorneys will receive 2.0 CLE credits. To register, please complete this registration form. This program is co-sponsored by the New York County Lawyers Association. NYCLA members receive a 10% discount. All registration fees are non-refundable.

Info or questions?  Please e-mail Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, or via telephone at: 212.319.2787 x13

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Fiscal Sponsorships Workshop: Fundraising for Artistic Projects*

Many independent artists as well as small and new arts organizations require public donations and contributions to carry out certain artistic projects. Without the requisite 501(c)(3) status, these artists and organizations face difficulties in raising funds from philanthropic individuals, charitable foundations, and government institutions. Fortunately, Fiscal Sponsorship exist which enable individual artists as well as small and new arts organizations to raise grants and tax-deductible contributions for their projects. Because Fiscal Sponsorships are regulated by the IRS, there are some complicated legal issues involved. Failure to comply with IRS regulations can create legal complications for the artist and/or organization. Additionally, a Fiscal Sponsorship creates an arrangement between artist and sponsor, thus calling for a written agreement where issues of liability and intellectual property will be clearly manifested.

This VLA workshop is open to artists, arts administrators, and attorneys, and will cover the legal issues raised by a Fiscal Sponsorship, as well as a brief overview of profit and nonprofit entities.

When: Monday, November 10, 2008
Time: 6-8pm
Location: VLA, 1 East 53rd, NY, NY 10022 (Auditorium)

To register, please complete this registration form. All registration fees are non-refundable. For more information please contact Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento at: 212.319.2787 x13

* 2.0 CLE Credit Available, Professional Practice (Traditional Format; Newly Admitted and Experienced Attorneys)

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Dates and Times for Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exemption Workshop

Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exemption workshop dates for 2008:

Tuesday, October 14, 4-6pm
Monday, November 17, 3-6pm (3 CLE credits)
Monday, December 8, 1-3pm

This workshop provides valuable information about starting a nonprofit organization. State issues to be covered include articles of incorporation, bylaws, and the first organization meeting. Federal issues include the Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) and corresponding regulations, application for employer identification number, IRS disclosure rules, unrelated business taxable income, charitable contributions, and restrictions on lobbying. VLA requires all applicants seeking Nonprofit Incorporation and Tax Exempt Status services through VLA to attend this workshop before a volunteer attorney can be assigned to them.

Additionally, CLE credit (Professional Practice, traditional format, transitional) is available on certain dates.

All workshops held at our VLA location, 1 East 53rd Street (first floor auditorium). For additional information please e-mail Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento or contact him at 212.319.2787, ext. 13. To register for the Nonprofit and Tax Exemption Workshop please fill out and return this Workshop Registration Form.

This program is funded by The Edmond de Rothschild Foundation Nonprofit Assistance Program.

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VLA Presents: Brown Bag CLE* Lunch Series

VLA's Brown Bag CLE Lunch workshops allow legal professionals to meet with a VLA staff attorney and discuss special legal issues concerning the arts and entertainment industry. These workshops are a great way to gain knowledge of recurring problems and issues in areas ranging from management agreements and licensing contracts, to film and television projects and nonprofit organization counseling. Attorneys are encouraged to bring lunch; VLA will provide beverages and dessert!

* 1.5 CLE Credit is available, Professional Practice (Traditional Format; Transitional)

1. Counseling nonprofit arts and cultural organizations: Tuesday, Feb. 26
2. Management agreements: Tuesday, April 8
3. Contracts for musicians and composers: Tuesday, May 13
4. Counseling creators of film and television projects: Tuesday, June 17
5. Film and television contracts: Tuesday, July 22
6. Legal issues in contemporary art: Tuesday, Sept. 16
7. Licensing contracts for visual artists and graphic designers: Monday, Oct. 6
8. Contracts for Musicians and Composers: Tuesday, November 12
9. Counseling Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations: Tuesday, January 20, 2009
10. Management Agreements: Tuesday, February 16, 2009
11. Common Ethical Issues in Arts and Entertainment I, Nonprofits: Tues, Mar 17, 2009
12. Common Ethical Issues in Arts and Entertainment II, Music & Film: Tues, April 21, 2009
13. Film & Television Contracts: Tuesday, May 19, 2009

All workshops take place from noon to 1:15pm, and are held at our VLA location at 1 East 53rd Street (corner with 5th Ave.).

Fees: (per session)
VLA Legal Professional Member: $75
Legal Professional Non-Member: $125

To register for any of these workshops, please complete this registration form (make sure to indicate which session(s) and return with payment information to VLA via fax to: 212.752.6575, or with check to:

VLA
Brown Bag CLE
One East 53rd Street, 6th fl.
NY, NY 10022

All registration fees are non-refundable.

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Upcoming: MediateArt Training Program, Fall 2008

VLA is offering a two-day intensive workshop of basic mediation training for attorneys, artists, arts administrators, and other professionals with an interest or background in entertainment and the arts or in intellectual property. The workshop will cover basic mediation, negotiation, and facilitative leadership skills with a focus on the resolution of disputes without litigation. Participants will learn and practice effective mediation skills and will receive one-on-one feedback from experienced mediators.

CLE Credit Available: Eighteen (18) New York CLE “Areas of Professional Practice” credits available (qualifying as “transitional” for newly admitted attorneys; includes 10 for professional practice, 6 skills, and 2 ethics).

Fees:
Artists: $250 on or before October 10, 2008; $350 after October 10, 2008
Attorneys: $375 on or before October 10, 2008; $475 after October 10, 2008

Note: All fees are non-refundable

Location:
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10103

Date/Time:
Tuesday, November 11, 2008: 10am – 5pm, and;
Wednesday, November 12, 2008: 10am – 5pm

To register, please fill out this Registration Form and return with credit card info via fax to 212.752.6575, or pay by check and send via mail to:

MediateArt Training 2008
VLA
1 East 53rd Street, 6fl
New York, NY 10022

For more information contact Ben Brandow at 212.319.2787 x16, or via e-mail at bbrandow@vlany.org

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VLA Memberships

A VLA Membership provides individuals and organizations with access to the VLA Legal Clinic, discounts on VLA programs, services and publications, and invitations to member events.

For more information regarding individual and organizational membership benefits, services, and rates, click here.

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Books & Publications for Sale

Along with providing individuals and organizations with access to the VLA's Library, VLA makes available a wide variety of books for all arts disciplines and organizations. For a list of our publications and books available for sale, please visit our list. For book prices and shipping fees, please contact VLA at our ArtLawLine at 212.319.2787, x1.