Our Client Industries

Creative people and organisations think imaginatively to produce new and exciting ideas, objects, artistic works, places and ways of doing things.  They are also innovative, artistic, inventive, productive, ingenious, original, prolific and visionary.

Studio Legal is proud to service creative people and organisations from a vibrant range of industries where new and exciting ideas, objects, artistic works, places and ways of doing things are abundant.  You can find more information about the industries we service below.

Feel aligned with Studio Legal?  We would love to hear from you, even if your industry is not listed.

 

  • At Studio Legal, we love beautiful, intelligent and innovative architectural designs.

    We help architects engage and contract with clients, suppliers, service providers, employees and contractors in a legally sound way,

    In addition, we provide our clients with tailored and effective solutions for the  for the protection of their intellectual property, design integrity and brand.

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with one of our lawyers today. 

    We can help you with things like:

    • Architect services agreements.
    • Architectural documentation disclaimers.
    • Supplier agreements.
    • Consultant agreements.
    • Employee and contractor agreements.
    • Photography licence agreements.
    • Trade mark registration.
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation.
    • Moral rights.
    • Risk management.
    • Contract review and negotiations.
    • General business structuring and set up advice.
    • IP, contract and payment disputes.
    • Much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising and acting for leading architecture and interior design practices in copyright infringement and Australian Consumer disputes surrounding high-profile projects.
    • Advising and acting for clients in both the bringing and defending of copyright infringement claims relating to architectural drawings and plans.

  • Arts lawyers x Arts lovers

    As lovers of the arts, it’s not uncommon to find our team wandering through galleries and attending events. We love the movies, theatre, fashion shows, design and art fairs, and anything and everything that showcases Australia’s talented artists and creatives.

     

    Who we work with

    Our experienced arts lawyers work closely with artists, performers, galleries (including NFT and online galleries), museums, illustrators, photographers, videographers, graphic designers, dancers, choreographers, and artistic types of all persuasions.

     

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with our arts lawyers today.

    We can help you with things like

    • Arts industry contracts, (e.g. agreements relating to artworks, illustration, photography, content creation, collaboration, creative commissions and more).
    • Agreements relation to agents, talent and management.
    • Intellectual property (IP) assignment and licensing.
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation.
    • Moral and performers rights.
    • Advice on receiving and providing royalties.
    • Brand protection and trade mark registration.
    • Design registration and advice.
    • Pre-publication legal advice and content clearance.
    • Venue hire.
    • NFT advice and terms.
    • Talent and location releases.
    • Terms and conditions of sale and entry for events and venue admission.
    • General business structuring and set up advice.
    • IP, contract and payment disputes.
    • Litigation.
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work

    • Drafting terms of sale agreements between artists and purchasers of art, and advising on matters like copyright, moral rights, resale royalties and display rights.
    • Drafting agreements between artists and online galleries for the sale of artworks, including NFTs.
    • Working with authors, publishers and illustrators to prepare agreements for the licence or assignment of copyright in their work.
    • Representing artists in disputes involving the infringement of copyright and moral rights in their artworks, including litigation in the Federal Court.
    • Drafting and filing registered design applications and advising on registered design matters generally.

    Common problems our arts lawyers solve

    • What rights do I have as an artist, designer, dancer, gallery, or general creative?
    • How can I make money from my creative work and skills?
    • How can I stop others from using (or copying) my work without permission?
    • I’ve been offered a contract… what does it mean and should I sign?

  • We’re partial to some pampering and believe that life is better with beautiful skincare products, quality make-up, a good haircut and regular visits to spas and salons.

    We’re proud to work with clients from a range of areas within the industry, including skincare, makeup, fragrance and haircare brands, as well as beauty retailers, suppliers and manufacturers, clinics, spas and salons.

    We can help you with things like:

    • Brand protection, including Australian and international trade mark strategies;
    • Trade mark registration;
    • Product packaging and labelling requirements and compliance with the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020 and the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth);
    • Advertising laws;
    • Agreements with retail stockists, suppliers, manufacturers, social media influencers, brand ambassadors and more;
    • Terms and conditions, privacy policies, shipping and return policies for e-commerce websites;
    • Passing off and misleading and deceptive conduct claims;
    • General business structuring and set up advice;
    • Negotiating a lease for your retail store or salon;
    • IP, contract, consumer law and payment disputes; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising brands on ‘copycat’ businesses, including advice on trade mark infringement, passing off and misleading and deceptive conduct claims, and representing brands throughout such disputes to resolve the legal issues commercially.
    • Providing product packaging and labelling requirements and compliance with the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020 and the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) to start-up beauty brands.
    • Drafting new suites of bespoke, user friendly, beautifully designed and plain English contracts for online beauty retailers including terms and conditions, privacy policies, shipping and return policies for e-commerce websites.

  • We don’t profess to be construction lawyers per se, but when it comes to understanding IP rights in the design and build process as well as protecting construction brand assets, we take a special interest.

    We assist clients from various sectors of the construction industry including project managers, builders, architects, interior designers and draftsmen to understand and navigate the IP landscape of their industry.

    Although we do not provide typical ‘construction law’ services we can help you with things in the construction industry relating to intellectual property like:

    • Trade mark registration and protection including in Australia and internationally;
    • Common law trade mark rights;
    • Passing off claims;
    • Copyright in architectural drawings and plans, including understanding rights, protection, commercialisation and infringement;
    • Updates to IP clauses in construction documentation;
    • Transfer and licensing of IP;
    • Inter-company IP assignment and licensing arrangements for large corporate groups where a holding company owns IP assets;
    • Intellectual property disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising on and implementing a registered trade mark protection strategy and preparing inter-company licence agreements for one of the largest construction companies in the southern hemisphere.
    • Advising on and drafting updates to prominent architectural and interior design practices’ various contract documentation, to ensure their IP assets were adequately protected and better commercialised.
    • Assisting boutique construction companies with brand protection, including registering a suite of brand assets as trade marks and assisting in the managing of trade mark portfolios.
    • Assisting architectural draftsmen and boutique construction companies on copyright issues associated with architectural drawings and plans to ensure liability is minimised to the maximum extent possible.
    • Handling copyright disputes regarding architectural drawings and plans for architects, interior designers and draftsmen.

  • We love beautifully designed things at Studio Legal and are passionate about helping designers protect and bring their ideas to life. Our team consists of both professionally trained designers, as well as hobby sewers, painters and furniture makers.

    Using our industry knowledge and niche skill set in commercial law, copyright and designs law, we work with a range of fashion, jewellery, textiles, interiors, furniture, toys, equipment and other designers to help them commercialise and protect their work.

    We can help you with things like

    • Design checks;
    • Design registration and certification;
    • IP protection strategies;
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Moral rights and performer rights;
    • Navigating the intersection between copyright law and designs law;
    • Brand protection and trade mark registration;
    • Managing and dealing with counterfeit and infringing goods;
    • Agreements relating to collaboration, commission, licensing, assigning and more;
    • Advice on receiving and providing royalties;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising a tapestry artist on the complicated copyright and designs overlap and assisting her to implement the appropriate IP protection strategy.
    • Assisting one of Australia’s leading bridal brands to successfully register their bridal gown designs.
    • Assisting an Australian ceramicist to successfully register and certify their unique mug design in Australia.
    • Advising and representing fashion clients in both the bringing and defending of design infringement allegations.
    • Assisting a start-up business to successfully register their designs for children’s toys and play equipment.
    • Preparing and implementing a design enforcement strategy for a leading Australian interiors brand.

  • Not only do we live, breathe and love the entertainment industry – many of our lawyers have also worked within it. Our team consists of experienced musicians, entertainment industry booking agents, managers, film production assistants, festival and tour coordinators and DJs. This expertise allows us to understand and identify the unique challenges and commercial opportunities for our clients.

    As experienced music lawyers, we entertainment lawyers, we help artists, performers, musicians, record labels, production companies, distributors, festivals, event promoters, radio stations, managers, talent agents and many others working within the entertainment industry.

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with one of our entertainment lawyers today.

    We can help you with things like:

    • Setting up your new entertainment business.
    • Agreements for talent, performers, artists, bands, management, booking agencies, producers, record labels, publishers and more.
    • Copyright matters, including rights, use, protection, infringement and commercialisation.
    • Copyright licences and assignments.
    • Moral rights and performer rights.
    • Clearing samples.
    • Distribution deals for both physical and digital products.
    • Trade mark registration of performer, record label or other business names.
    • Industry standards.
    • Collection of royalties and residuals.
    • Cease and desist letters.
    • APRA/AMCOS/ARIA music licences.
    • Band disputes.
    • Breach of contract advice.
    • Festival legals.
    • Pre-publishing clearances for advertisements, scripts, books, social media content and other publications.
    • Retailing and distribution of digital media, including music, software and film.
    • Handling legal affairs for festivals and events.
    • Merchandise, endorsements, sponsorship and publicity matters;
    • Employment matters;
    • Disputes and litigation including copyright infringement, partnership and contractual disputes; and
    • Much more!

    For more information about our services, take a look at our Entertainment Law page here.

    Examples of work:

    • Drafting entertainment industry agreements for all stakeholders in the industry and ensuring fairness and satisfaction for the parties involved.
    • Representing prominent independent music label in commercial and IP matters including drafting suite of artist agreements, negotiating sub-publishing agreement with well-known overseas publisher and restructuring business.
    • Advising artists on copyright infringement of their original works and drafting cease and desist letters or engaging in other dispute resolution strategies to address the infringement.
    • Establishing and representing peak music industry not-for-profits set up to support music industry businesses with various issues facing the music industry including the COVID-19 pandemic and increases to copyright licence fees for music use.
    • Handling legal affairs for various festivals prior to the event and ensuring watertight agreements are in place to protect their commercial interests including advising on music licensing, artist engagement terms, recording of performances and other issues.
    • Negotiating copyright licenses for the use of musical works on behalf of clients who intend to sample or create an adaptation of that musical work.
    • Running litigation in the Magistrates’ Court in relation to a dispute between a music manager and well-known artist.

  • We are no strangers to the events industry. Our team consists of experienced musicians, booking agents, sound technicians, managers, festival and tour coordinators and DJs. In addition, we are skilled entertainment lawyers with a genuine passion for helping Australia’s events industry thrive.

    We represent major Australian music and arts festivals, food and wine festivals, pop up events, fundraising events, conferences, expos, virtual events and workshops. We also work with promoters, managers, galleries, touring agents and other events industry figures.

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with one of our event lawyers today.

    We can help you with things like

    • Handling legal affairs portfolios for festivals and events.
    • Intellectual property rights, including trade mark registration.
    • Agreements relating to touring, venue hire, bookings, ticketing, performers, volunteers, employees, contractors, talent services, management, production, catering, merchandise and more.
    • Agreements relating to ownership of events including shareholders agreements, partnership agreements, joint venture agreements and more.
    • Selling and purchasing of events.
    • Risk management, work place safety laws and relevant events insurance.
    • Terms and conditions for event ticketing and entry.
    • Merchandising, endorsements, publicity and sponsorship.
    • Cancellation clauses, including force majeure clauses.
    • Disputes and litigation.

    For more information about our services, take a look at our Events Legals page here.

    Examples of work:

    • Providing quasi in-house counsel legal services for a diverse range of Australian music and arts festivals, which includes drafting terms and conditions of entry, advising on force majeure events, contracting artists and suppliers, advising on music licensing laws and much more.
    • Assisting a start-up business to protect and commercialise a new Australian-wide family entertainment concept including registering trade marks, drafting a joint venture agreement between partners and preparing and negotiating venue hire agreements.
    • Providing urgent and complex Australian Consumer Law legal advice and ongoing legal support to prominent Australian camping festival in relation to bush fire risks and related postponement and cancellation options.
    • Drafting new suites of bespoke, user friendly, beautifully designed and plain English contracts for prominent events including ticket sale agreements, privacy policies, supplier contracts, employment contracts, sponsorship contracts and talent contracts.

  • You won’t find our lawyers walking around in drab, poorly designed suits – it’s just not our thing. Instead, we’re lovers and followers of fashion and you can be sure to find us obsessing over and wearing our favourite new outfits to work.

    With our love of the fashion industry and specialist legal skills in this space, we’re here to support the many players of the industry, including those behind the scenes such as designers, pattern makers, textile designers, manufacturers, sales agents, event producers and model agencies to those ‘front of house’ such as retailers and models.

    We can help you with things like

    • General business structure, set up and asset protection advice;
    • Navigating the intersection between copyright law and designs law;
    • Intellectual property rights, protection and infringement;
    • Trade mark registration and protection;
    • Design registration and certification;
    • Securing a retail premises (including advising on heads of agreement, drafting and negotiating leases);
    • Agreements with employees, freelancers, contractors, manufacturers, stockists, suppliers, wholesalers, sales agents, managers, talent, models and more;
    • General employment matters, including advice on applicable awards;
    • E-commerce including online retail terms and conditions;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising fashion designers and labels on the intersection between the Designs Act 2003 (Cth) and the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and how best to protect their designs.
    • Registering and certifying fashion designs under the Designs Act 2003 (Cth) with IP Australia.
    • Drafting a supply and manufacture agreement for an Australian fashion and accessories label, to engage suppliers and manufacturers locally and overseas.
    • Preparing documents (including business set up documents, wholesale supplier agreements, terms and conditions and privacy policies) for a high street womenswear label.
    • Handling brand and design protection and well as copyright and design disputes for leading Australian hospitality apparel brand.
    • Preparing online store terms and conditions for an Australian garment hire business.
    • Reviewing and advising on regional and international sales agent agreements for a casual womenswear label.
    • Ongoing brand protection, including devising and implementing a registered trade mark protection strategy, for a large activewear company.

  • Equal to our love of music, is our love of quality film and TV content. You will find our team when out of lockdown, checking out films at various film festivals or enjoying an outdoor cinema and when in lockdown, binging the must watch TV series on any number of streaming platforms.

    With specialist film and TV legal expertise on the Studio Legal team, we enjoy working with a range of clients across the industry, including actors, talent, film and television producers, screenwriters, agents and directors.

    We can help you with things like

    • Agreements with actors, talent, writers, broadcast journalists, entertainers, cast and crew, employees, contractors, agents and insurers;
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Performer and moral rights;
    • Production agreements for television and films;
    • Defamation advice and clearances;
    • Censorship;
    • Licensing of music and other copyrights including synch placements, remixes and sampling (to include in television shows and films);
    • Chain of title;
    • Broadcast, streaming and other mandatory licences;
    • Talent, copyright and location releases;
    • Merchandise and sponsorship;
    • Financing and funding;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Representing a well-known production company in negotiations with film rights owners for the showing of films with new, original scores performed by live bands.
    • Advising on and negotiating a television production deal for a well-known underground magazine, in order to expand their magazine concept to television.
    • Establishing the corporate structure and ownership agreements for a start-up film production company, as well as assisting the start-up to commission and acquire ownership of a script written by a well-known celebrity for their first production.

  • We like to keep ourselves fit and healthy, whether that’s through a gym session, an online yoga class at the office or simply tracking our steps with smart fitness tech.  We’re excited and inspired by the way the fitness industry is continually evolving.

    Studio Legal is proud to work with players across the full spectrum of the fitness industry, including gym owners and franchisees, fitness education providers, yoga and pilates studio owners, personal trainers, fitness influencers, e-commerce fitness retailers and sports tech companies.

    We can help you with things like

    • General business set up and asset protection advice;
    • Commercial leases;
    • Equipment agreements;
    • Loan agreements;
    • Agreements between founders and business partners;
    • Terms and conditions for studios, memberships, online stores and more;
    • Privacy policies and collection notices for health information;
    • Brand protection and trade mark registration;
    • Advising on compliance with the Fitness Industry Award;
    • Employment and contractor agreements;
    • Branded product development, merchandise and sponsorship;
    • Protecting, selling and licensing the IP assets associated with fitness businesses;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising on all aspects of the purchase of the Australian arm of a US-based gym franchise with more than 1000 locations worldwide. This included advising on the deal structure, Australian franchising considerations under the Franchising Code, and preparing and negotiating all transaction documents.
    • Preparing all documents (including business set up documents, wholesale supplier agreements, terms and conditions, privacy policies) and providing brand protection advice for an e-commerce business in the fitness and active wear industry.
    • Review of well-known pilates studio’s staff hiring practices including assessing whether staff should be hired as employees or contractors, advising on aspects of the Fitness Industry Award, drafting new employment, contractor and individual flexibility agreements.
    • Advising the founders of an education-based children’s fitness program on all aspects of their start-up including founder agreements, IP licensing agreements, investment agreements, restructuring and licensing of program to third parties.
    • Advising a number of fitness influencers in relation to the development and launch of an online fitness education business.

  • They say the team that eats and drinks together stays together. Regardless of whether this is a proven fact, our team conclusively believes that life and work are better when beautiful food, salty snacks, high-end scroggin and refreshing alcoholic knock-offs are involved.

    Studio Legal is proud to work with clients in the food and beverage space. From food, wine and other beverage labels to wholesale suppliers, we represent clients across the industry and supply chain.

    We can help you with things like:

    • General business structuring and set up advice;
    • Regulatory matters, including compliance with the Australian Consumer Law and the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Food Standard Code;
    • Agreements with suppliers, wholesalers, retail stockists, employees, contractors and more;
    • General employment matters, including advice on applicable awards;
    • Brand protection;
    • Trade mark registration and protection;
    • Geographical Indications;
    • Product packaging, labelling and advertising;
    • E-commerce;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising on and implementing effective registered local and international trade mark protection strategy for a leading FMCG company in their development and launch of various food lines for Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.
    • Drafting and negotiating a number of wholesale supplier agreements for a local coffee roaster with a presence across Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
    • Advising a start-up business on the food and medicine regulatory overlap and providing recommendations on whether to class products as therapeutic goods or foods, taking into account brand strategy and market positioning, commercial operations and financial constraints, and regulatory obligations and costs.
    • Advising on, drafting and negotiating wholesale supplier agreements for one of Australia’s largest meat and poultry providers.
    • Managing a voluminous trade mark portfolio for one of Australia’s leading food and beverage groups, including representing them in opposition proceedings before IP Australia and in infringement disputes more broadly.
    • Managing Australian and international trade mark portfolios for various wine labels, including providing advice on geographical indications.
    • Advising online wine stores regarding age access and proof of age regulatory requirements and drafting suitable website terms and conditions to minimise liability, whilst ensuring a seamless and easy customer shopping experience.

  • Gaming lawyers x Gamers

    Once a narrow market of untapped potential, we are thrilled by the dynamism and growth of the gaming industry in recent years. Whether it’s exploring the realms of virtual worlds at gaming expos and conventions or immersing ourselves in the latest releases from the cozy confines of our homes, gaming is our eternal muse.

    Who we work with

    With specialist gaming expertise on the Studio Legal team, we enjoy working with a range of clients across the industry, including game developers, publishers, voiceover artists, environmental artists, agents and more.

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with our gaming lawyers today.

    We can help you with things like

    • Agreements with game developers, publishers, voiceover artists, environmental artists, agents, employees, contractors and more.
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Performer and moral rights;
    • Development agreements for games;
    • Defamation and censorship advice;
    • Copyright and trade mark clearances;
    • Licensing of music and other copyrights including synch placements, remixes and sampling (to include in games);
    • Chain of title;
    • Software as a service agreements;
    • Merchandise and sponsorships;
    • Business structures;
    • Financing and funding;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Working with an independent gaming studio to negotiate development and publishing contracts with a major UK gaming developer.
    • Assisting a local independent gaming studio with a chain of title review, consolidation of IP assets and preparation of a Solicitor’s Opinion Letter to qualify various games for screen production grants.
    • Preparing various contracts for a start-up game developer to engage music composers, environmental artists, font designers and voiceover artists.

  • As a Melbourne-born business, Studio Legal is home to a team of keen food and drink lovers. Ask any of our solicitors to list their hobbies and you can guarantee that ‘visiting restaurants and enjoying good food and wine’ will be on there!

    We work with a wide range of hospitality clients, including restaurants, restaurant franchises, food retail franchises, cafes, bars, nightclubs, food caterers, chefs and more.

    We can help you with things like:

    • General business structuring and set up advice;
    • Liquor and food licensing requirements and other regulatory matters;
    • Commercial leases;
    • Agreements relating to ownership of hospitality businesses including shareholders agreements, partnership agreements, joint venture agreements and more;
    • Purchasing or selling hospitality businesses;
    • Reviewing and negotiating franchise agreements;
    • Agreements with suppliers, delivery agents and more;
    • General employment matters, including advice on applicable awards;
    • Product packaging, labelling and advertising advice;
    • Running promotions, competitions and lotteries;
    • Music licensing;
    • Trade mark registration and protection;
    • Debt recovery;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Providing general legal support to a leading Australian restaurant franchise, including handling all IP matters, commercial contract negotiations, advising on promotions and marketing law and running litigations in the Federal Court of Australia and the County Court.
    • Drafting and negotiating transaction documents, leases and assisting with due diligence for the sale and purchase of bars, restaurants and cafes.
    • Advising on trademark and general brand protection for a boutique online wine start up.
    • Assisting the founders of a start-up vodka/juice product (including structuring and brand protection advice) from product development through to launch.
    • Assisting the owners of a new hospitality marketplace platform, which connects chefs with hungry Australians, to navigate the laws around selling food from home, as well as drafting their privacy policy and marketplace terms and conditions for chefs, delivery drivers and users.
    • Assisting bars, restaurants and cafes with recovery of unpaid debts in VCAT and the Magistrates’ Court.

  • We love beautiful places and spaces – just like our clients.

    As intellectual property and commercial lawyers, we help interior designers to engage and contract with their clients, suppliers and other service providers in a legally sound way.

    In addition, we provide clients with tailored, effective solutions for the protection of their intellectual property, creativity and design integrity.

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with one of our lawyers today. 

    We can help you with things like:

    • Interior design services agreements.
    • Initial consultation terms sheets.
    • Interior design documentation disclaimers.
    • Photography licence agreements.
    • IP licensing and assignment.
    • Supplier agreements.
    • Consultant agreements.
    • Employee and contractor agreements.
    • Trade mark registration.
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation.
    • Moral rights.
    • Risk management.
    • Contract review and negotiations.
    • General business structuring and set up advice.
    • IP, contract and payment disputes.
    • Much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Creating bespoke and user friendly interior design services agreements, incorporating our clients’ unique processes, offerings, aesthetic and tone.
    • Providing clear advice and guidance on the current landscape of interior design licensing and registration across Australia.
    • Advising and acting for leading architecture and interior design practices in copyright infringement and Australian Consumer disputes surrounding high-profile projects.

  • At Studio Legal we love brands. We particularly admire those who use their creative talents to devise strategies and produce assets to support and build brand integrity and awareness.

    We represent an inspiring catalogue of ground-breaking agencies and other businesses who practice all sorts of marketing and advertising disciplines from traditional advertising, brand strategy, market research, graphic design, copywriting, PR and communications, digital media marketing and everything in between.

    We can help you with things like:

    • General business structure and set-up;
    • Pre-publication legal advice and clearances for content such as videos, podcasts, social media tiles and entire brand campaigns;
    • Copyright matters, including rights, use, protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Trade mark registration and protection;
    • Client services agreements;
    • Agreements with employees, talent, freelancers, contractors;
    • Negotiations between agencies, talent and brands;
    • Sponsorship, endorsements, publicity and merchandising matters;
    • Australian Consumer Law;
    • Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics;
    • Australian Influencer Marketing Code of Conduct (AiMCO);
    • Running promotions, competitions and lotteries;
    • Defamation law;
    • Labelling and packaging advice;
    • Superannuation and tax obligations for influencer and talent engagements;
    • Location releases;
    • Privacy matters, including drafting privacy policies;
    • Domain name searches, registration, transfers and disputes;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more.

    Examples of work:

    • Preparing suites of legal documents for creative agencies, including client services agreements, talent agreements, supplier agreements, contractor and employment agreements, copyright licences and assignments.
    • Working collaboratively with branding agencies on naming projects to ensure names that they pitch to their clients can be legally used and are likely to obtain exclusive trade mark protection.
    • Representing both marketers and talent in single campaign and brand ambassador negotiations, including advising and drafing an influencer engagement agreement for a high-profile Australian influencer and representing a high-profile health brand in negotiations with a celebrity brand ambassador.
    • Reviewing and negotiating regular high-stake client engagement contracts for creative agencies.
    • Managing sale of business transactions for leading creative agencies.
    • Providing pre-publication advice and clearances for creative agencies in relation to edgy advertising campaigns for large global brands in Australia, where issues such as copyright and claims under the Australian Consumer Law are carefully considered and worked through.

  • While we are lovers of quality content, we also understand there’s a lot to get right behind the scenes before things can run smoothly on the page, the screen or the mic.

    We represent clients working across all forms of traditional, new and emerging media, including newspapers, magazines, radio stations, bloggers, podcasters, brands, talent, creative agencies and media companies.

    We can help you with things like:

    • Agreements with actors, talent, writers, broadcast journalists, entertainers, cast and crew, employees, contractors, agents and insurers;
    • Production agreements;
    • Financing and funding;
    • Defamation advice and clearances;
    • Censorship;
    • Licensing of music and other copyrights including synch placements, remixes and sampling;
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Performer and moral rights;
    • Talent, copyright and location releases;
    • Merchandise and sponsorship;
    • Chain of title;
    • Pre-publication legal advice and content clearance;
    • Broadcasting licences, streaming licences and other mandatory licences;
    • Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and Australian Press Council (APC) Standards;
    • Privacy matters, including drafting privacy policies;
    • Australian Consumer Law;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advised and negotiated a settlement for a high-profile Australian franchise on a defamation and injurious falsehood matter, in relation to an article published in a leading Melbourne newspaper.
    • Providing ongoing legal support and assistance to community radio station including advising on music licensing requirements and managing and resolving a large trade mark dispute with a large commercial radio network;
    • Assisting start-up digital news publication to create suite of contract templates for business including readership terms and conditions, privacy policy, content creator agreements, writer agreements, interview release forms, talent release forms and more.
    • Advising podcast and other audio production companies on legal issues such as copyright, defamation and Australian Consumer Law, and drafting suite of legal contract templates for their business use, including podcast production agreements, production consultancy agreements, interviewee release forms and more.

  • Not only do we live, breathe and love the music industry – many of our lawyers have also worked within it. Our team consists of experienced musicians, music industry booking agents, managers, festival and tour coordinators and DJs. This expertise allows us to understand and identify the unique challenges and commercial opportunities for our clients.

    As experienced music lawyers, we represent artists, musicians, record labels, publishers, music distributors, festivals, event promoters, radio stations, managers, touring agents and many others working within the music industry.

    We can help you with things like:

    • Setting up new music industry businesses like record labels, publishers, booking agencies and more;
    • Agreements for performers, artists, bands, management, booking agencies, producers, record labels, publishers and more;
    • Copyright matters, including rights, use, protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Copyright licences and assignments;
    • Moral rights and performer rights;
    • Clearing samples;
    • Distribution deals for both physical and digital products;
    • Trade mark registration of performer, record label or other business names;
    • Music industry ‘standards’ advice;
    • Collection of royalties;
    • Cease and desist letters;
    • APRA/AMCOS/ARIA music licences;
    • Band disputes;
    • Breach of contract advice;
    • Festival ‘legals’;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Drafting music industry agreements for all stakeholders in the industry and ensuring fairness and satisfaction for the parties involved.
    • Representing prominent independent music label in commercial and IP matters including drafting suite of artist agreements, negotiating sub-publishing agreement with well-known overseas publisher and restructuring business.
    • Advising artists on copyright infringement of their original works and drafting cease and desist letters or engaging in other dispute resolution strategies to address the infringement.
    • Establishing and representing peak music industry not-for-profits set up to support music industry businesses with various issues facing the music industry including the COVID-19 pandemic and increases to copyright licence fees for music use.
    • Handling legal affairs for various festivals prior to the event and ensuring watertight agreements are in place to protect their commercial interests including advising on music licensing, artist engagement terms, recording of performances and other issues.
    • Negotiating copyright licenses for the use of musical works on behalf of clients who intend to sample or create an adaptation of that musical work.
    • Running litigation in the Magistrates’ Court in relation to a dispute between a music manager and well-known artist.

  • As avid content consumers, you’ll find us indulging in everything from celebrity gossip updates and space documentaries to cutting edge, informative, and well produced podcasts, magazines, community radio and news channels.

    We’re proud to work with journalists, writers, podcast producers, PR & communications agencies, news and media publishers, talent, influencers, social media managers, copywriters and other content creators.

    We can help you with things like

    • Agreements relating to the providing of services to your customers, talent, influencers, agents and more;
    • Usage rights, royalties and payments;
    • Copyright protection, infringement and commercialisation;
    • Moral rights and performer rights;
    • Brand protection and trade mark registration;
    • Pre-publication legal advice and content clearance;
    • Obtaining music and other copyright licences for your content;
    • Employment matters;
    • Talent and location releases;
    • Terms and conditions, privacy policies, shipping and return policies for online media platforms;
    • Australian Consumer Law;
    • Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics;
    • Australian Influencer Marketing Code of Conduct (AiMCO);
    • Running promotions, competitions, and lotteries;
    • Privacy law;
    • IP, contract, consumer law and payment disputes; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Drafting new suites of bespoke, user friendly, beautifully designed and plain English contracts for prominent Australian PR & Communications agencies including client campaign contracts, supplier contracts, employment contracts, employee handbooks, talent contracts.
    • Representing well-known Australian and international brands to negotiate agreements with equally well known talent for the creation of television and digital content to promote the brands.
    • Providing ongoing legal support to a well-known community radio station including in relation to music licensing, broadcasting rights, talent releases, brand protection and corporate restructuring.
    • Providing advice and supplying written policies to talent and PR & Communications agencies in relation to the Australian Influencer Marketing Code of Conduct.

  • As lawyers, we’re used to reading and writing!  

    However, beyond office hours, our love of language and stories, real and imagined, flows into our everyday lives. Our interest in literature and publishing traverses all genres and forms.

    Through the law, we seek to empower and support Australia’s talented writers, illustrators, publishers and everyone involved in this unique industry.  

    Our experienced publishing lawyers work with authors, journalists, writers, media personalities, illustrators, artists, book cover designers, literary agents, editors, publishing houses, magazines, journals and more.  

    Looking for legal assistance or advice? We’d love to help. Get in touch with one of our publishing lawyers today. 

    We can help you with things like

    • Publishing agreement reviews, advice and negotiations.
    • Pre-publication legal reviews and advice for books, screenplays, articles, scripts, ads, blogs, social media content and other publications.
    • Agreements with illustrators, literary agents, cover designers, and more.
    • Shopping agreements, option and purchase agreements, and production agreements (for film and television deals). 
    • IP licence agreements (with third parties such as photographers, illustrators, artists or other IP owners).
    • Copyright advice, protection, infringement and commercialisation.
    • Online store terms and conditions.
    • IP protection and strategy.
    • Defamation advice and disputes.
    • Advice on receiving and providing royalties.
    • Much more!

     

    For more information about our services, take a look at our Publishing Law page here.

    Examples of work:

    • Negotiating numerous publishing agreements for various authors and illustrators with major and independent Australian publishing houses.
    • Undertaking pre-publication legal reviews of manuscripts prior to publication, to flag and advise on legal risks relating to intellectual property, compliance with court orders, defamation and confidentiality.
    • Trade marking of book series’ titles and associated merchandise and products.

  • We admire people from all walks of life, who are courageous, creative and savvy enough to put themselves out there and a make a living from their personal brand. At Studio Legal, we celebrate and support all talent.

    We work with a myriad of talented people including musicians, actors, celebrity chefs, models, influencers, bloggers, adult entertainment stars, academics, business stars and more.

    We can help you with things like:

    • Agreements relating to talent services, intellectual property licensing and assignment, content usage, brand ambassadorship, sponsorship, endorsement and more;
    • Agreements relating to hiring managers, agents and other suppliers;
    • Intellectual property rights in content, including ownership, use, protection, commercialisation and infringement;
    • Talent, copyright and location releases;
    • Merchandise and sponsorship;
    • Australian Consumer Law;
    • Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics;
    • Pre-publication legal advice and content clearance;
    • Trade mark registration and protection;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Representing a well-known blogger/influencer in a dispute with a major international celebrity and resolving dispute to parties’ satisfaction.
    • Preparing a suite of agreements for a prominent adult entertainment influencer’s business including terms and conditions and consent forms.
    • Assisting social media influencers to understand their superannuation and tax obligations in relation to certain engagements.
    • Preparing and negotiating brand ambassador and endorsement agreements, including with high profile celebrities such as AFL players, television personalities and models.

  • We may not know how to code, but we do know what intellectual property rights are contained in software and technology, as well as how to commercialise and protect these rights.

    Inspired by the opportunities for growth and innovation that technology represents, we are proud to work with a diverse range of technology clients including tech start-ups, mobile applications, online marketplace platforms, software developers, IT service providers, virtual reality developers, NFT marketplaces, wearable technology developers, digital artists, electronic music producers and more.

    We can help you with things like:

    • General business structure and set up advice;
    • Intellectual property advice relating to technology and digital content such as code, software, NFTs, images, music, e-books and more;
    • Agreements with software developers, employers, employees, contractors, collaborators, suppliers and more;
    • Agreements relating to ownership of tech start-ups including shareholders agreements, partnership agreements, joint venture agreements and more;
    • Purchasing or selling tech businesses;
    • Capital raising documents such as SAFE and convertible notes;
    • Commercialising digital content;
    • Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements;
    • Creation and maintenance of digital asset portfolios;
    • Domain name searches, registration, transfers and disputes;
    • Terms and conditions for apps, websites and e-commerce stores;
    • Online policies relating to privacy, intellectual property, shipping, returns and social media;
    • E-commerce business and legal advice;
    • Disputes;
    • Litigation;
    • And much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Assisting the founder of an online not-for-profit fundraising platform with website terms and cross-border privacy policies.
    • Advising a key investor on the terms of investment (including reviewing and negotiating all subscription documents) as part of a capital raise for an Australian-based fintech start up.
    • Advising a start-up arts business with the preparation of contracts for a new NFT marketplace including advising on various copyright matters pertaining to the platform.
    • Preparing suite of contracts for online marketplace for the exchange of professional business services including drafting terms of use, privacy policy, code of conduct, dispute resolution policy, as well as ensuring that all intellectual property assets such as copyright and trade mark rights are appropriately protected.
    • Representing a prominent fintech start-up generally including in relation to capital raising, employment matters and trade mark registrations.
    • Advising a start-up online food marketplace platform in relation to business model legal compliance matters and drafting suite of contracts for platform including terms of use for various users and privacy policy.
    • Preparing a suite of template app and website design and development agreements for a large digital agency within the entertainment industry.

  • We love a day (and night) out on the town and are always on the lookout for new and exciting venues to visit. Therefore, we are proud to work alongside clients who own, run and operate venues.

    Understanding the mountain of work that goes on behind the scenes, we take care of everything legal to ensure that things run smoothly. Our clients include restaurants, bars, nightclubs, co-working spaces, photography studios, galleries, event spaces and more.

    We can help you with things like:

    • General business structure and set up advice;
    • Agreements such as leases, subleases, sublicences and co-working licences;
    • Agreements relating to use of venue, such as venue hire agreements and location releases;
    • Commission and consignment agreements for sale of goods at venue;
    • Trade mark and brand protection;
    • Advertising, merchandising, endorsement, publicity and sponsorship;
    • Apps, website and other digital media assets;
    • Music licensing obligations including handling dealings with APRA/AMCOS and ARIA;
    • Employee, contractor, performer, supplier and other agreements
    • Risk management, work place safety laws and insurance;
    • Waivers of liability;
    • Membership terms and condition;
    • Privacy compliance and policies;
    • Terms and conditions for event ticketing and entry;
    • Leasing disputes and troubles with Landlord; and
    • Much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Providing ongoing legal support to leading Melbourne co-working business including negotiating all site leases, drafting co-working membership T&Cs, protecting trade marks, drafting agreements between owners, restructuring advice and transactional assistance and much more.
    • Advising on all aspects of the purchase of the Australian arm of a US-based gym franchise with more than 1000 locations worldwide (including deal structure, preparing and negotiating all transaction documents and Australian franchising considerations under the Franchising Code).
    • Assisting various venue and nightclub operators throughout Victoria with COVID-19 rent relief advice and negotiations with landlords.
    • Reviewing and preparing a suite of template co-working licence and event booking agreements for a multidisciplinary creative studio and co-working hub.
    • Reviewing and negotiating lease for a key tenant of a Melbourne-based not-for-profit social enterprise arts precinct.
    • Assisting bars, restaurants and cafes with recovery of unpaid debts in VCAT and the Magistrates Court.
    • Drafting new venue hire agreements for well-known live music venue in Melbourne.
    • Setting up and representing not-for-profit association of Australian venue owners including advising on music licensing fees.

  • From the products we put in and on our bodies, to the way we rest and unwind, we love to live life well. That’s why self-care, nutrition, movement, meditation, and home and lifestyle brands entrust us to help them with various legal aspects of their business.

    We are passionate about supporting various businesses within the wellness space, such as yoga and Pilates studios, wellness practitioners from all disciplines, new-age practitioners, meditation studios and homewares and lifestyle brands such as candles, crystals and vitamins.

    We can help you with things like:

    • General business structuring and set up advice;
    • Regulatory matters, including compliance with the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) and the Australian Consumer Law;
    • Product packaging, labelling and advertising;
    • Compliance with the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020 and the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) and other laws;
    • Brand protection;
    • Intellectual property matters, including rights, use, protection, commercialisation and infringement;
    • Commercial leases;
    • Agreements with suppliers, stockists, employees, contractors and more;
    • General employment matters, including advice on applicable awards;
    • Terms and conditions for websites and e-commerce stores;
    • Disputes and litigation; and
    • Much, much more!

    Examples of work:

    • Advising a start-up business on the food and medicine regulatory overlap and providing recommendations on whether to class products as therapeutic goods or foods, taking into account brand strategy and market positioning, commercial operations and financial constraints, and regulatory obligations and costs.
    • Managing various Australian and international trade mark portfolios, including for yoga studios, supplements brands and home and lifestyle businesses.
    • Preparing and negotiating wholesale supplier agreements, including non-disclosure agreements for the purposes of preparatory / pre-engagement discussions.
    • Preparing website and online store terms & conditions.
    • Assisting the founders of a home fragrance range to successfully resolve a trade mark infringement and passing off dispute, including preparation of cease and desist letters and negotiating an acceptable commercial resolution.
    • Negotiating regular brand ambassador and endorsement deals and providing ongoing advice on advertising laws for a well-known Australian FMCG brand in the wellness space.