The explosive popularity of tablets, smartphones and other Internet-connected consumer devices has ushered in a new technology ecosystem driven by Apps. These self-contained software programs have not only provided the stakeholders involved with a compelling way to exploit everything from movies and games to magazines and newspapers, but have created a thriving new marketplace poised for ongoing, accelerated growth. While the stakeholders are many, the myriad of complex business and legal issues facing them are no less staggering in number. For publishers, content creators, App developers, content distributors, aggregators, storefront operators and service providers, the successful navigation of a rapidly evolving landscape of shifting terms and conditions, privacy regulations, content restrictions and corresponding business considerations across multiple devices and platforms has proven a daunting but essential exercise for leveraging the economic opportunities available.

In this CLE-accredited webinar, the DigitalHHR team will explore the critical business and legal challenges associated with the development, publication, distribution, sale and use of Apps. We will discuss the contours of in-App purchases, subscription-based offerings, and “freemium” models, as well as in-App advertising and App-based ad networks. We will analyze the evolving privacy terms and conditions associated with the use of Apps, and the corresponding laws, regulations and case law impacting end user data collection, disclosure and ownership. We will also address the terms and requirements promulgated by the various platform operators, including Apple, RIM (Blackberry) and Google (Android), and how they impact stakeholders’ participation across the different App environments.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, April 7, 2011 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EDT.

To register, please click here.

Mr. Siegel is a “master at financing and structuring,” Chambers USA says in its latest edition. “Clark Siegel is widely recognized as an imposing presence in the field,” the publication observes. In addition to the Chambers guide, Mr. Siegel is recognized by many other legal publications including Best Lawyers in America, the Legal 500 U.S. guide, Los Angeles Magazine’s “Southern California Super Lawyers” and The Los Angeles Times “Best Lawyers in the West.”

“The demand for sophisticated, cutting-edge expertise in the areas of content, the Internet and technology continues to be of critical concern to our clients,” said Hughes Hubbard Chair Candace Beinecke. “We believe that with Dan Schnapp in New York, and now Clark Siegel in L.A., we can offer our clients an unparalleled bi-coastal capability in this area.”

Mr. Siegel has published widely on Intellectual Property matters and issues. Specific technologies and applications he has been involved with include digital cinema projection, CGI animation, video on demand and electronic sell-through, DVD, satellite and wireless delivery, peer-to-peer distribution, digital cable, digital video recorders, PDAs, cellular phones, interactive television, fiber-optic transmission, and other digital and analog applications. He received his B.A. in 1980 from Stanford University, Phi Beta Kappa, and his J.D. in 1984 from University of Chicago where he was a member of the University of Chicago Law Review.  Clark’s full bio and contact information is here. 

We anticipate that Clark will become a regular contributor to DigitalHHR, providing insights from his vantage point on the Left Coast.  We look forward to working with him.

“TV Everywhere”, the brainchild of Jeff Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner, the largest owner of cable networks, including TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN and HBO, would put all cable programming on the Web in places such as Hulu, MySpace and Yahoo TV.  The catch—viewers will have to prove that they already pay for the content through a TV subscription with a cable, satellite or telephone company.  And like the dry cleaner, no ticket, no shirt (or, in this case, show).

The initiative is, in many ways, the product of a “perfect storm” of the realities, opportunities and challenges facing not just the cable/satellite/telco industry and content owners, but the advertising industry and advertisers themselves.  Here’s what is at play:

• Cable, satellite and telco TV is one of the few sources of subscription content that people are willing to pay for.
• That fact keeps most video content and programming off the Web as cable networks fight to preserve the 50% of revenue that comes from subscribers.  Their fear is that, with content freely available on the Web, many viewers may decide to simply terminate their pay TV service.
• The content owners and networks are often reluctant to put content directly online for fear that the cable companies will not want to pay top dollar to the media companies who are, in effect, undermining the cable subscription model.
• Yet the content owners and Web publishers recognize that there are ad dollars to be made by placing more and more content and programming on the Web.

TV Everywhere is intended to address all of these points.  In theory, pay TV subscribers would have online (and perhaps mobile) access to all of the TV programming included in their pay TV package.  You would log in, provide information regarding your pay TV subscription (perhaps via an “unlock” key you get from your pay TV company) and can have access to a robust library of programming.

Viacom and ESPN, two of the largest programmers, appear to be open to such an initiative.  According to the report in MediaDailyNews, Viacom is working with cable operators to develop an authentication process.  ESPN is also evaluating certain technology that might be deployed.  And Time Warner Cable has been testing a system in Wisconsin which enables HBO subscribers to watch shows online.

New research seems to support claims of the cable industry that making cable programming available to subscribers regardless of which of the “three screens” viewed—TV, PC and mobile—would lead to increased market demand.  The Diffusion Group found that 16% if cable subscribers who spend more than $100 per month for TV service would spend an additional $20 per month to deliver that same content to their PCs.  (No word from Diffusion about how the other 84% of subscribers feel.)  The research revealed that the percentage of cable subscribers willing to pay more for additional access on other screens increased as the added cost for the access decreased.

With broad participation by pay TV providers and Web sites offering the video content (presumably any site with an agreement with the media content providers), this initiative could be entirely system and provider agnostic.  The clear advantage to subscribers is added access to video content that they already pay for.  For the Web sites, perhaps an opportunity to provide targeted advertising—after all, the log-in process could provide information about the subscriber.

However, the hurdles are substantial.  Put aside for a minute the enormous endeavor needed to develop and implement a system that could process and authenticate information from millions of pay TV subscribers with hundreds of plans offered from dozens of providers that would need to be integrated onto perhaps thousands of platforms across the Web.  (Now that I’ve written that sentence, it seems absurd to “put it aside.”)  But the cooperation needed by all of the stakeholders—pay TV providers, broadband service providers, Web site operators—is substantial, to say the least.  Reconciling issues such as sharing consumer information will be tremendously difficult, both from the consumer facing (privacy policies, anyone?) and business intelligence standpoints.  Certain legal restrictions on the use and/or disclosure of such information may also apply.

Moreover, what type of information would be provided to the Web site operators?  They would likely want access to subscriber information in order to sell targeted advertising, an interest shared by the programming providers.  However, will pay TV providers want to share such information—giving the Web sites a revenue advantage—without participating?

Lastly, are consumers willing to go along here, undertaking yet another login and authentication process, exposing themselves to yet more advertising and eroding privacy a bit further, all to watch more TV outside of the comfort of their own living rooms?

We will watch developments here closely as these are some BIG questions.

Advances over the last decade in the media, entertainment and technology industries have been unparalleled. The new media landscape is dynamically shifting in real time and all businesses must anticipate and react to innovations in technology in order to seize new opportunities and develop unique business models.

Hughes Hubbard and Reed’s New Media, Entertainment and Technology group recognizes the pace at which these advancements are affecting the day-to-day operations of our clients. We specialize in helping clients exploit such developments to stay ahead of the curve by understanding the way technology influences business. It is not merely the convergence of the media, entertainment and technology industries, but the impact of such convergence on the global consumer, which drives the marketplace forward. We combine the resources and experience of a traditional law firm with an understanding and passion for today’s cutting-edge technologies to assist our clients in navigating the new realities and challenges arising from this shifting landscape.

Digital Media and Internet

• Digital audio-visual content licensing, distribution and syndication initiatives on all new media platforms including wireless, broadband, satellite radio and IPTV
• Online social networking services, virtual reality communities, blogging, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)
• Mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, online sponsorships/promotional collaborations and joint ventures
• Embeddable media player development, deployment and syndication
• Electronic publishing and distribution
• Integrated marketing, contextual advertising and brand management
• Viral marketing and Internet based “word of mouth” campaigns
• Ad serving, syndication, publication, targeting and tracking
• User-generated content ingestion, distribution, syndication and liability-related issues
• Digital content screening, moderation and filtering
• Online gaming, sweepstakes, contests and promotion compliance
• Digital Millennium Copyright Act – safe harbors and anti-circumvention issues
• Adoption and content of website Terms of Use agreements

Entertainment

• Development and production matters for motion picture and television productions, including writer, producer and director arrangements, guild issues, special effects agreements, location agreements, and other production related matters and documentation
• Domestic and international motion picture distribution in all media, including output deals and ancillary exploitation
• Cable and television broadcast, syndication and other distribution
• Motion picture and television finance, including single- and multi-project finance and all forms of debt, equity and mezzanine financing
• Strategic alliances and motion picture and television co-production and co-financing arrangements
• Major record label sound recording, publishing and associated rights clearances
• Independent music recording, publishing and licensing
• Video game development, publishing ,distribution and licensing for all platforms, including console, handheld ,wireless and online games
• Professional sports league television licensing and retransmission
• Professional athlete employment contracts and talent agreements, including spokesperson, appearance and sponsorship agreements
• Literary and other underlying rights acquisition and licensing
• Rights clearance for motion pictures, television productions and video games
• Product, character and technology merchandising and licensing
• Television format licensing
• Overall and housekeeping deals with talent elements and production companies
• Motion picture and television library acquisitions and dispositions
• Network, cable system and satellite affiliation and carriage agreements
• Product placement and commercial tie-ins
• Motion picture and television marketing agreements and arrangements
• Registration and licensing of patents, trademarks and copyrights
• Litigation concerning the interpretation of recording, film and distribution contracts
• Theme park, gaming and hotel operation

Technology and Information Security

• Privacy, data and information security compliance
• Information technology, business process, call center and manufacturing outsourcing transactions
• Website development, hosting and colocation arrangements
• Electronic commerce, publishing and distribution
• Technology and data export compliance
• Record retention and disaster recovery/contingency planning compliance
• Wireless device and network applications
• Software/hardware and intellectual property procurement, development, licensing and distribution
• Micropayment, contactless payment, smart cards and other alternative electronic payment technology implementations
• Technology transfers and acquisitions
• Technology service and maintenance agreements
• Domain name disputes

New Media, Entertainment and Technology Attorneys

• Dan Schnapp
• Rita Haeusler
• Wayne Josel
• Peter M. Langenberg
• Lindsay Orosz
• Matthew Syrkin
• Other Attorneys

This video is posted with permission of TechConfidential.