Charmaine D. Smith

Concentrations

• Transactional entertainment-related matters in the music and film industries
  • Advising clients with respect to various aspects of digital media offerings 
  • Preparing and negotiating complex term sheets and content agreements with record companies (majors, independents and aggregators), both U.S. and international, covering audio and audiovisual content with respect to virtually every type of digital media offering, including permanent downloads, subscription offerings, streaming services, ad-supported services, "locker" services, ringtones, ringback tones, pre-loaded devices and video games, and providing related strategic counseling 
  • Preparing and negotiating complex term sheets and content agreements with music publishing companies and music publishing rights organizations, including for new media products and service offerings and more traditional offerings 
  • Preparing and negotiating digital media agreements with motion picture studios and video content providers, including for electronic sell-through, preload distribution and streaming offerings 
  • Copyright counseling and guidance in the digital media space, including analysis of new developments in the copyright laws and impact on services and offerings, and analysis of complex rights licensing issues associated with new models 
  • Strategic counseling and drafting of complex agreements for companies offering marketing, digital media support and/or digital back-end services to musical artists and record labels 
• Trademark prosecution, counseling, licensing and enforcement 
• Copyright prosecution, counseling, licensing and enforcement 
• Publicity rights counseling 
• IP and related litigation, including trademark infringement, false advertising, copyright infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and patent infringement 
• Due diligence review of domestic and international IP portfolios