Wallace Collins

July 05, 2017 | New York Law Journal

Wallace Collins writes: An option agreement at its most basic is a contract whereby the writer grants to a producer, production company or studio, for a period of time and for a payment, the right to make a film of the writer's book, story or screenplay. The three main material issues that usually arise in negotiating such a deal are the length of the option period, the amount of the option payment and the purchase price if the project comes to fruition. How each of these issues will be resolved will vary depending on the negotiating leverage of the respective parties.

By Wallace Collins

8 minute read

August 17, 2016 | New York Law Journal

Wallace Collins discusses the myriad possible problems that may arise when a song's co-authors do not have a written agreement concerning their joint work, and some considerations for drafting such a contract.

By Wallace Collins

11 minute read

May 16, 2014 | New York Law Journal

Wallace Collins writes: When the 1976 Copyright Act was drafted few could envision a world where artists might not need record companies to finance, promote and distribute their records. But more digital the music business becomes, the more obsolete the large record labels become for established artists, who may begin to exercise their ability to terminate master recording copyrights.

By Wallace Collins

7 minute read

June 18, 1999 | Law.com

In Ballas v. Tedesco and Ballroom Blitz Music Inc., a New Jersey federal court held that an exchange of e-mail does not fulfill the signed writing requirements of ' 204 of the 1976 Copyright Act -- thus denying plaintiff's claims to rights in the work as a joint author or under the work-for-hire doctrine. This paper examines the significance of the ruling and the care that must be taken in securing a signed, written agreement with the creator of a work before moving forward with a project.

By Wallace Collins

11 minute read