With firm chair and experienced KC Christine O’Neill at the helm, Brodies LLP‘s team in Edinburgh maintains an excellent defamation and reputation management offering, working with leading global broadcasters and content platforms on media disputes and injunctive proceedings. Senior associate Sarah McCormick further excels in this area, handling a mixture of defamation, privacy and contempt of court issues. Also praised in the contentious sphere is Niall McLean for his litigation and reputation management advice to individuals, corporations and public authorities. Martin Sloan anchors the firm’s equally strong commercial media practice, advising major Scottish publishers and global production studios on a range of contracts, IP and data matters.
Media and entertainment in Scotland
Brodies LLP
Les références
‘Brodies will offer not just imaginative and enjoyable professional development opportunities, but also bespoke seminars for particular needs. It has unrivalled public law expertise and is always accessible.’
‘Christine O’Neill KC is irreplaceably smart, thoroughly decent and the finest Scots public lawyer of her generation.’
‘The team at Brodies are responsive and demonstrate a pragmatic, commercial mindset that recognises the challenges and constraints we have to work within as a business.’
Principaux clients
Meta
BBC
DC Thomson
Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Hyper Luminal Games
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society
National Theatre of Scotland
Marine and Lawn
Rewards4 Group
Principaux dossiers
- Retained by BBC Scotland to provide on call legal advice to Scotland journalists and current affairs staff.
- Providing ongoing litigation advice to a global social media platform with a focus on commercial litigation, defamation and IP infringement proceedings.
- Advised Mowi on matters relating to its sponsorship of Gordon Ramsay’s new ITV show, Next Level Chef.
Burness Paull LLP
Burness Paull LLP‘s team in Glasgow is the first port of call to a number of high-profile media organisations and individuals, owing to its wide-ranging expertise in commercial and contentious mandates. In addition to its prolific rights management and enforcement practice, the group is experienced in media law disputes and corporate finance transactions; the latter is an area of particular expertise for team head Grant Stevenson, who has handled a multitude of high-profile acquisitions and investments, many of which are cross-border in nature, for leading Scottish media entities. IP head and litigator Colin Hulme attracts major broadcasters and rights management organisations for his content protection and rights management expertise, where he is often supported by senior associate Megan Briggs. Kirsteen MacDonald recently founded Mac Media Law, though continues to be instructed by the team as a consultant.
Responsables de la pratique:
Grant Stevenson
Autres avocats clés:
Colin Hulme; Megan Briggs; Giuseppe Pia; Fraser MacKinven
Les références
‘A very responsive firm which provides a full and prompt service.’
‘Exceptional quality of support staff, which makes more of a difference to clients than law firms necessarily realise.’
‘Flexible and innovative.’
Principaux clients
STV Group plc
Neptune Street Film Ltd
Comcast Corporation
Sky Limited
PPL PRS Limited
PicRights
Rockstar Games
BBC Scotland
Hachette
Pixsy Inc
Two Rivers Media Limited
Principaux dossiers
- Advising STV Group on the acquisition and investment into Mighty Productions Limited, their revolving credit facility and funding proposal for the production of the new “Blue Lights” TV series, and on a tripartite agreement to develop and co-produce exclusively with Tod Productions.
- Managing Sky’s enforcement programme across Scotland. This involves raising copyright infringement proceedings to prevent unauthorised broadcasts of Sky’s sporting events in licensed premises throughout Scotland.
- Advising BBC Scotland on all media law matters including contempt, defamation, privacy and contentious copyright.
Anderson Strathern
With publishing sector expert Simon Brown at the helm, Anderson Strathern remains an established player in the Scottish market and is a regular advisor to publishing houses, theatre companies, education sector clients and individuals on a range of corporate, commercial and contentious mandates. Director Barry Nichol anchors the team’s theatre and performing arts initiative, advising charities on sensitive employment and HR issues, while the Glasgow-based IP specialist Douglas McLachlan spearheads its growing film and television production practice. In the contentious sphere, senior litigator Katrina Lumsdaine handles defamation and breach of privacy cases before both the Sheriff Courts and the Court of Session. All named individuals are based in Edinburgh unless stated otherwise.
Responsables de la pratique:
Simon Brown
Autres avocats clés:
Douglas McLachlan; Katrina Lumsdaine; Barry Nichol; Colin Young
Les références
‘Prompt to respond and offer solutions in a changing environment.’
‘Up to date and knowledgeable in a fast-moving industry where personal, cast and crew contracts, film and book rights, IP, and copyright are all of vital importance, and often all with conflicting requirements.’
‘Loyal, protective and supportive of their clients while being absolutely professional and at the top of their game.’
Principaux clients
The Great Tapestry of Scotland Charitable Trust
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
The Rangers Football Club Limited
Birlinn Limited
Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Federation of Scottish Theatre
Carnegie Musical Limited
The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
Whittles Publishing Limited
The National Library of Scotland
Publishing Scotland
Scottish Book Trust
South West Media Factory Productions Limited
Prepress Projects Limited
Fieldsports Press Limited
Principaux dossiers
- Advised The Great Tapestry of Scotland Charitable Trust on the securing and exploitation of IP rights in the Tapestry and the transfer of the Tapestry to Scottish Borders Council for permanent exhibition at a purpose-built new visitor centre in Galashiels.
- Assisted The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service with the winding down of the intial project to establish remote jury centres at Odeon cinemas across Scotland, as well as the set up of one venue to be used for High Court trails in the long term.
- Advised Fieldsports Press Limited on the acquisition of five shooting magazine titles, plus the Shooting & Country online TV channel and the airgunshooting.co.uk website from Archant Community Media.
CMS
Drawing on its international reach, CMS works with a notable roster of blue-chip MNCs and Scottish organisations on commercial and contentious mandates; the former is an area of expertise for team head Alan Nelson (managing partner of the firm’s Glasgow office), who handles contract negotiations, tech projects, software licensing, and outsourcing deals. Also active in the non-contentious space is the Edinburgh-based Duncan Turner, whose transactional capabilities span the protection, acquisition, disposal, development and exploitation of IP rights. On the contentious side, IP litigation head and sports sector expert Neeraj Thomas (Glasgow) has acted for a number of major international and Scottish companies in proceedings before the Court of Session.
Responsables de la pratique:
Alan Nelson
Autres avocats clés:
Cynthia Johnston; Duncan Turner; Neeraj Thomas; Kimberley Cross
Principaux clients
Scottish Event Campus
ITV
Microsoft
National Museums Scotland
UEFA
Scottish FA
Trump International
Gleneagles Hotel Ltd
Gleneagles Townhouse Edinburgh Ltd
St James Quarter (GP) Limited
BT Sport
MoonBug Entertainment Ltd
Galactic Media Group Ltd
Principaux dossiers
- Advising the Scottish Event Campus on a broad range of matters in relation to the OVO Hydro, including sponsorship agreements with new anchor arena sponsors, artist filming rights, the arena naming rights agreement with OVO as well as advising on the branding of backstage areas.
- Advised ITV on an IP dispute which resulted in a successful interim interdict against an online seller marketing sunglasses which infringed on the client’s popular ‘Love Island’ brand.
- Advised National Museums Scotland on all aspects of its arrangements with the BBC to host a ‘Dr Who’ exhibition, which involved advising on the exhibition hire, licensing of the BBC’s iconic ‘Dr Who’ brand, and ensuring that the client had the requisite marketing and merchandising rights.
Harper Macleod LLP
Harper Macleod LLP assists a wide range of blue-chip media organisations, governing bodies and high-profile individuals with both contentious and non-contentious matters. The team is led by the Edinburgh-based IP and cybersecurity specialist Jamie Watt, who is renowned for his expertise in the music sector and cross-border capabilities. Tom Thomas‘ commercial knowhow spans film and television production and location agreements, in addition to sports broadcasting rights arrangements, while James McMorrow‘s experience includes film production funding and location matters. In the contentious space, David Kerr‘s recent work involves advising public broadcasters on breach of contract and defamation issues. All named individuals are based in Glasgow unless noted otherwise.
Responsables de la pratique:
Jamie Watt
Autres avocats clés:
Tom Thomas; E-Ming Fong; James McMorrow; David Kerr
Les références
‘We have always been very impressed with their commercial approach to dealing with quite complex areas of law. We often need them to filter their Scottish law advice into our wider UK advice and they do this seamlessly and in a way which is pitch perfect for our clients.’
‘Jamie Watt is responsive, vastly experienced and delivers spot on advice through a commercial lens.’
‘Jamie Watt is an excellent commercial lawyer offering sound, sensible and pragmatic advice that goes to the heart of the issue at hand. His communication style is efficient and to the point, which makes it clear and easy to understand.’
Principaux clients
The Musicians Union
Publishing Scotland
Creative Scotland
The Society of Authors
Scottish Mountaineering Trust
Celtic FC
Jack and Victor
NMBRS
Kate Nash Literary Agency
Sandstone Press
Principaux dossiers
- Advised The Musicians Union on the proposed reform of UK copyright law.
- Acted for well-known Scottish comedians Jack and Victor from the Still Game series on a challenge to their whisky brand by Jack Daniels.
Thorntons Law LLP
IP expert Liam McMonagle – who splits his time between Edinburgh and Glasgow – heads up Thorntons Law LLP‘s practice, which works with major Scottish production studios, publishers and arts institutions; he has particular expertise in matters encompassing the gambling, television and education sectors, many of which are of a cross-border nature. Dundee-based managing partner Lesley Larg specialises in brand management, computer games and live music, the latter being an area in which newly promoted partner and chartered trade mark attorney Kirsty Stewart further excels, in addition to music publishing. Alistair Lang, who splits his time between St Andrews and Edinburgh, handles high-profile sports broadcasting rights arrangements and sponsorship agreements.
Responsables de la pratique:
Liam McMonagle
Autres avocats clés:
Lesley Larg; Alistair Lang; Kirsty Stewart
Les références
‘A bespoke service with a focus on personal needs for great value.’
‘A strong, well-resourced team, who deliver high quality practical advice.’
‘Liam McMonagle consistently delivers high-quality, practical advice, within the timescales asked for.’
Principaux clients
Design Dundee Limited (operators of V&A Dundee)
Beano Studios Ltd
Abertay University
Ant Workshop Limited
Stormcloud Games Limited
People’s Postcode Lottery
Snag Group Limited
ThinkAnalytics
Scotch Limited
Urbancroft Films
Blackhouse Films
St Andrews Links Limited
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Postcode Lottery Limited on a major advertising campaign partnership with ITV which ran over the Christmas period in 2022.
- Ongoing advice to Design Dundee Limited (operators of V&A Dundee Museum) on all aspects of the operation of the museum, including arrangements for exhibition and cultural events.
- Ongoing advice to St Andrews Links Limited on licence and partnership agreements to both renew existing official supplier and partnership agreements, and develop new relationships with multiple entities.
BTO Solicitors LLP
With team head and commercial litigator Paul Motion, Edinburgh-based BTO Solicitors LLP has particular expertise in the contentious sphere, where the team advises on defamation and reputation management, production and recording contracts, and copyright issues. IP and cybersecurity expert Lynn Richmond, also noted for her commercial litigation credentials, has been active in the latter space. The team, which is best known for its music sector capabilities, is further geared to advise on non-contentious matters. Clients include artists, labels, promoters, and content platforms.
Responsables de la pratique:
Paul Motion
Autres avocats clés:
Lynn Richmond; Lauren McFarlane; Lily Morrison
Principaux clients
Stephen Gorman (Flowercard Scotland Limited)
Criterium Cycles Limited
Briffa Legal Limited
Courtney Riley
Ali Najafian
Paula Obrien Psychic Medium
Mallorca Lee & Rodger Hughes
BLOKSHOK productions
Club Los Claveles
Printerinks Europe Limited
Laura Barker
Principaux dossiers
- Advised Paula Obrien Psychic Medium on a contractual dispute in relation to her social media and website.
- Provided Printerinks Europe Limited with short-term reputation management advice after the client was contacted by a BBC Watchdog demanding responses to questions.
- Advice to BLOKSHOK Productions (the trading name of well-known Scottish musician Martin Metcalfe) on the registration of around 50 tracks with PRS by an organisation that the client maintains had no right to do so.
DLA Piper
Among DLA Piper‘s client roster are some of Europe’s largest leisure businesses and venue operators, for which the Edinburgh-based team handles matters involving sponsorships and online marketing, outsourcing deals and supply services agreements, among others. Practice head John McKinlay advises on media rights, content licensing and associated IP issues, where he is often supported by senior associate Catriona Melton, while Alistair Drummond, head of the Scottish litigation and regulatory practice, anchors the team’s contentious offering, with expertise in court actions and arbitrations.
Responsables de la pratique:
John McKinlay
Autres avocats clés:
Alastair Drummond; Catriona Melton; Laura Maclennan
Principaux clients
Merlin Entertainments
BrewDog
ExCel London
Lothian Amusements Limited
Odeon Cinemas
The Football Association of the Premier League
Admiral Taverns
Ambassador Theatre Group
Intercontinental Hotels Group plc
Leonardo Hotels
Principaux dossiers
- Advising Merlin Entertainments on promotion, branding and sponsorship contracts.
- Advising ExCel London on commercial IP matters, including contracts for the supply of catering and electric charging points, and a refresh of its contract suite, including IP and branding advice.