Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP (SA&M) represented client Funny Or Die (FOD) in the sale of its branded content studio to Roku, and subsequently in the sale of the company to Henry R. Muñoz III, a prominent business leader and philanthropist.
Funny Or Die, an Emmy Award-winning leader in comedy entertainment, has expanded into a full-service video website and television production company that is now the number-one comedy brand across digital, social, and mobile channels.
The sale consists of the Funny Or Die content library, original production slate, and all social media assets that include over 40 million followers. LionTree served as the financial advisor throughout the duration of the deal, while SA&M worked with Funny Or Die as its legal advisor. The deal demonstrates the firm’s commitment to providing clients with top-tier transactional services in the entertainment and media industries.
Attorneys working on the transaction included Greg Akselrud, Madeleine Barenholtz and Brent Armitage.
The Internet, Digital Media & Entertainment Practice Group advises individuals and companies across all aspects of their corporate, strategic and licensing businesses, including in connection with a full range of mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions. For more information about the Internet, Digital Media & Entertainment practice, contact Greg Akselrud at .
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles' client HouseCanary, a real estate technology company offering the most accurate home valuations, has announced that it has raised $65 million in a Series C funding round with help from a group founded by billionaire and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. Including this Series C round, HouseCanary has raised a total of $130 million in funding.
To read the full article visit Law 360.
Stubbs Alderton attorneys representing in this transaction were Greg Akselrud and Caroline Cherkassky.
About HouseCanary
Founded in 2014, their mission is to help people make better real estate decisions. Built on a foundation of great data, powerful models and predictive analytics, the HouseCanary platform aggregates millions of data elements, including more than four decades of property data and a rapidly expanding arsenal of proprietary data calculations and analytics, to accurately define and forecast values and market influences. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. www.housecanary.com
For more information about our Internet, Digital Media & Entertainment practice, contact Greg Akselrud at
Believe it or not, YouTube channels and podcasts are now major revenue earners, both for the creators who operate them and the advertisers who use them to generate business. However, digital media rights and disputes are largely untested in the legal realm and therefore come with questions and uncertainties.
YouTube channels and podcasts are generally not “owned;” however, they are comprised of various valuable things that can be held, controlled, and bought/sold. Channel access (i.e. login credentials and the right to advertising revenue) is necessary for operation and is sometimes controlled by an entity other than the creators. Without channel access, and access to supporting social media accounts, the channel cannot operate; however, access alone generates little, if any, revenue. The more valuable assets of a YouTube channel or podcast are the intellectual property it disseminates. This includes the channel/podcast name, character names and storylines (if applicable), and the actual library of videos/recordings created.
Intellectual property is frequently held by a legal entity formed by the content creators. The rights to that intellectual property can then be licensed or assigned to others as needed, such as with brand partnerships. However, if a holding entity is not created, the intellectual property is owned equally by all of the people who create the content. Courts may consider the co-creators a de facto partnership, but since these forms of media are new, this question has not been thoroughly reviewed by the courts, and ownership is uncertain. It is possible that the intellectual property is controlled by a majority vote of the co-creators or that anyone co-creator can control (or limit) the use of relevant intellectual property. To avoid this ambiguity, it is best to formalize the relationship between co-creators before substantial revenue is generated.
It is vital that content creators treat the channel/podcast as a business right out of the gate. Unless the channel is operated entirely by a single person, you will need to form a legal entity (typically a limited liability company or corporation) to control channel access and hold any intellectual property developed for the channel/podcast. In the event of a dispute, the governing documents of the entity will determine a resolution. To guide you in the process of forming a legal entity and deciding how revenue will be managed, it is helpful to seek the advice of an attorney and an accountant.
Additionally, each individual who contributes to the channel/podcast has the right to control the use of their name or likeness (their image and their voice). Individuals can demand that any content containing their name or likeness be taken down, even if it means removal of the full library. To avoid this issue, no matter how small their role, every person who appears on the channel/podcast should sign a release of any claim to their name/likeness with respect to the channel/podcast.
Companies are increasingly hiring YouTube channels and podcasts to create branded content, and navigating these relationships effectively is a regular part of doing business for any company that advertises. When negotiating the production of branded content, companies should request the opportunity to review the content before it is posted, and include a schedule for reviews and final delivery of assets. If the company intends to use any media created by the YouTube channel or podcast on its own website or social media channels, the company should obtain a license from the channel or podcast to use the content or have all rights to the content assigned to the company. The company should also audit the channel’s/podcast’s own business and intellectual property practices to make sure the content will not be removed for violating copyright law or misappropriating a person’s name or likeness.
Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission has become increasingly strict in its regulation of digital media advertising. It is the role of both business owners and content creators to ensure that all content follows the most recent FTC regulations. The primary goal of these regulations is to avoid consumer confusion. Companies must require the content creator to include adequate disclosures (ranging from the use of #ad in the description of a post to a full narrative introduction for a sponsored video or recording) with any sponsored content, and the company should review the content before it is posted to confirm that the proper disclosures have been made.
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Celina Kirchner is an associate in the Business Litigation practice area. Celina’s civil litigation practice focuses on all areas of business and commercial litigation, with a particular emphasis on digital media, technology, internet, privacy, emerging companies, insurance, breach of contract, fraud, and complex business disputes. In her practice, Celina works closely with business professionals of all levels in order to develop practical strategies for resolving their disputes. She also advises businesses on formation, governance and contracting matters in the hope that they can avoid litigation altogether. Having worked with clients of all sizes, Celina understands that every case is unique and, ultimately, comes down to people. She focuses on the human element of her cases and communicates in an understandable, business manner. In the end, Celina endeavors to make what can be a stressful time for her clients as smooth as possible. Celina is a frequent speaker at events centered around digital media and the burgeoning Silicon Beach community.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only. For more questions contact Celina Kirchner @
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles client Mythical Entertainment has acquired Youtube comedy channel, Smosh, bringing together two long-running Youtube channels. Through the deal, Mythical has expanded its business to over 70 million subscribers and 250 million monthly views across 14 YouTube channels. Ron Bender's firm assisted alongside Stubbs Alderton in the deal.
To read the full article on Variety visit here.
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles attorneys representing Mythical Entertainment in this deal were Greg Akselrud and Kelly Laffey.
About Mythical Entertainment
Mythical is an entertainment company, lifestyle brand, and creative collective made up of passionate people brought together by their love of comedy, camaraderie, and the do-it-yourself, direct-to-fan approach to content. Its thousands of popular videos have been viewed over 5 billion times across the Internet. Mythical was founded by the comedic duo and life-long best friends Rhett & Link, who lead the company in every endeavor.
For more information about our Internet, Digital Media & Entertainment practice area contact Greg Akselrud at
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and the Preccelerator Program are proud to announce the launch of their Startup Superhero Video Series - featuring SA&M Attorneys, Preccelerator Mentors, and entrepreneurs on topics specific to entrepreneurship and lessons learned throughout the journey.
This week we're featuring Preccelerator Mentor and Board Member Peter Csathy, as he talks about the state of the digital media market.
Peter Csathy is a media/digital media/tech advisor, business development executive/dealmaker, strategist, entrepreneur/operator, venture capitalist/investor, and journalist who has consistently led and driven transformative innovation, expansion and enterprise value for both leading public and private companies (including via successful M&A exits and negotiated deals valued in excess of $4 billion). Career equally spans both traditional and digital media/technology (and with significant international experience). Deep senior level decision-maker and influencer contacts and relationships.
He is a recognized thought leader frequently featured in The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Venturebeat, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TheWrap, Billboard, CNBC, BBC, USA Today, Bloomberg, Forbes, Advertising Age, The Huffington Post, Wired, Fast Company and other leading publications/blogs; frequent moderator and guest speaker at leading industry conferences and events (including CES, NAB, Variety Summit, Digital Hollywood, Siemer Summit, Streaming Media); frequent guest columnist for leading media/digital media/tech publications (TechCrunch, Variety, Billboard, Venturebeat, VideoInk) and prolific blogger on own “Digital Media Update” blog; mentor in the Disney Accelerator and the Points of Light Civic Incubator; appointed to commission making recommendations to President Obama; board member and advisor to for-profits and non-profits.
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Transcript
Speaker: Peter Csathy.
Moderator: Heidi Hubbeling
Startup Superhero Series - The State of Digital Media
Heidi: I would like you to tell us a little bit about Creative Media and what your background is. Tell us about what CREATV Media does as well as why you chose to join the Preccelerator as board member and what value you think the Preccelerator brings to companies?
Peter: So, I started CREATV Media, a little over a year ago, as to be really a leading digital media focused business development, advisory and investment firm. What that means is that it kind of ties together this network I created. If people go to the website http://www.creatv.media, you’ll see that it is a team of really connected individuals. It’s meant to be a super network of people across traditional media, new media, technology so that we can bridge or bring opportunities for our clients and really identify where to go. Help facilitate these new opportunities, structure deals, get investment into those deals. Also, work with companies on an M&A front, where for larger companies (media as an example), we can identify potential areas of strategic investment. Then for those who are privately held companies they are looking to potentially have a strategic partner, that can eventually be an investment or M&A. We frequently work with those companies to position themselves, tell their story, identify the partner structure deals. So that there’s ultimately a great result for them. We do a lot of connecting. We do a lot of business development, identifying opportunities, and then a lot of market intelligence. I have great team of people on the consulting side, who with our unique access and relationships that we have - can get information and market intelligence that nobody else can get. We can bring that to light, to our clients, so that they are smarter and faster and better. That’s on the creative side.
On why I joined the Preccelerator? It’s just this great opportunity to support an organization, Stubbs, and what they are doing here to support entrepreneurs in the LA community. Accelerators are always interesting because it’s a great place for entrepreneurs to come together and rub shoulders - the community that comes with that, both within, but also from without when you have market leaders coming in to share their stories. Hopefully, I can bring mine and bring some wisdom of the things I did right and the things that my company did wrong and they can learn from that. Stubbs did a really great thing here because it’s a law firm doing something that is typically not done by law firms. Really being entrepreneurial, creating this space, bringing new opportunities, new mentors, a tremendous package of benefits, as well as this great office space here on Third Street Promenade. That’s a wonderful thing and when they asked me to join, how could I say no?
Heidi: Now, you provide huge value to the companies with your expertise and your background in digital media. One of the perks in the perks package is consulting services and getting to have your ear, your introductions, and access to your network. What are some of the things in your background, that make you an ideal mentor here? Also, what’s your entrepreneurial story that has brought you to this place.
Peter: It certainly hasn’t been a straight path which is part of the fun of it all. I started, many many years ago. I’ve been in the media and tech world for over 30 years, which is kind of hard to believe. I started as a media and entertainment lawyer, almost 30 years ago. From that point, I went into the studios. I was at New Line, Universal, Savoy and really transitioned from being a lawyer to a business person and negotiating deals - from a dollar to multi-billion-dollar international joint ventures. In about 2000, I went to my first entrepreneurial company. I became a real start-up guy initially where this one was a true start -up where we built up a series B close to $10M round, then moved it to the east coast, I stayed here, then was recruited to go down to San Diego, really the most innovative software, music, and services company at the time. Really the Spotify before Spotify - so I was an entrepreneur there. We sold that company for $160 million dollars, and then I ran another company that we also sold. I have seen a lot of different things and for the past several years I have been an advisor because I built this network along the way and hopefully I have some war stories that I can bring to help these entrepreneurs.
Heidi: And then your background is in digital media and technology. Through all your experience, what are your views on the state of digital media and tech market. How do you think LA as an ecosystem fits into where digital media is going?
Peter: It is such an incredibly exciting time. I have been in the space for more than 30 years, I’ve never been more excited than I am today about just the different opportunities for companies big and small. You have the fundamental traditional media and entertainment business which is completely transitioning or transforming at the hands of technology. I’ve seen both sides of that which is what makes it particularly fun. You see this transition happening and the media companies need to understand all these new technologies and new ways to engage and reach an audience and create content and monetize it. On the other hand, you have all these technology companies that are becoming media companies. Like the Googles, like Amazon, Facebook, very much these are media companies, they even call themselves media companies which is pretty incredible. All of this is happening at the same time and then you have innovation and it’s becoming a multi-platform world - where its traditional platform and then you have mobile of course which is the first screen. Live events are not going away so that’s another platform. VR, AR immersive platforms are also there, E-sports, and on and on and on. It’s just this really incredible and interesting time and LA is very much the hub of it. When it comes to certainly digital first media companies, absolutely here. When it comes to VR and AR so much of it is happening here. Drone technologies so much of it is happening here in Southern California. So, you have real money being poured into the LA, entrepreneurial community for the first time, really. You are seeing some great exits that flow out of that. Snap is one, where let’s not forget, Snaps right here. Snap of course just recently went public and that’s just one. Oculus of course, was acquired a couple years back and on and on and on.
Heidi: Right, it’s very an exciting for LA and I think that it’s neat to see all the bourgeoning companies and how the ecosystem here is and how its growing and the neat ideas that are coming out of the space.
Peter: It’s a really exciting time and now this community is not just able to not to retain the great talent, but actually really for the first time - attract some of the top talent, both on the creative side, and also on the engineering side - which is great. It’s coming here and fueling innovation all the time.
Heidi: Right - and I think there’s getting to be more investors that are seeing that this ecosystem is growing and that we really have some solid technology down here too.
Peter: That’s why we created SAM Creative Ventures, we want to ourselves invest more and more into this tech world. We are primarily focused on LA, but not exclusively. We are going to be taking a very close look at entrepreneurs in this community.
Heidi: Absolutely, providing a huge value to this ecosystem.
Peter: That’s the goal!
Heidi: Appreciate you being here and we will learn more about Creative Media and about Peter Csathy and another video upcoming, in the StartUp Superhero Series. Thanks for being here.
Peter Csathy
www.creatv.media
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To learn more about the Preccelerator Program, contact Heidi Hubbeling at .
Peter Csathy to join Board of Directors of Preccelerator®, lead its investment strategy, and oversee anticipated investments
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles and CREATV Media Announce Strategic Alliance to Provide Comprehensive Service Offering to Digital Media and Technology Companies
SANTA MONICA, CA – JANUARY 24, 2017 – Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP, a leading Southern California business, technology and digital media law firm, today announced that it will expand its successful early stage accelerator, the Preccelerator®, to accept a larger group of digital media and technology companies, significantly expand benefits to incoming startups, and look to make strategic investments in these companies and others. Peter Csathy, Chairman of CREATV Media, a leading digital media strategic advisory and business development firm, will join the Board of Directors of the Preccelerator to lead its investment strategy and oversee anticipated investments.
“By partnering with Peter, we will grow the firm’s industry leading Preccelerator® into a full-service platform that not only mentors young companies, but also provides smart venture capital and paths to strategic business development and consulting via CREATV Media,” said Scott Alderton, Chairman of the Preccelerator and Managing Partner of Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP. “While the Preccelerator has seen a lot of success, we want to continue to foster the growth of our early stage companies. By adding more companies, formalizing our class structure, expanding benefits and providing initial seed capital, we will give them a greater shot at success. With Peter’s vast experience and industry leadership, he will lead the investment strategy for these companies.”
To date, the Preccelerator Program has graduated five classes with the majority of the twenty-two companies being accepted into larger accelerator programs and incubators or successfully raising their seed funding round. Stubbs Alderton & Markiles launched the first-of-its kind program to provide select start-ups with co-working space, education, networking, mentorship and sophisticated legal services, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to a funded company. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.preccelerator.com/application.
“Stubbs Alderton’s reputation, entrepreneurial approach and shared vision in growing today’s digital media and technology market, what I call “Media 2.0”, is one of the many reasons we made this happen,” said Peter Csathy, Chairman of CREATV Media. “We deeply believe the growing convergence of content and technology is a worldwide addressable market that requires leading business and legal advisors who think “outside the box”, are deeply connected, move at entrepreneurial speed, and provide access to respected thought leaders and ultimately to smart capital. We aim to bring all of this to our collective client base, and to build CREATV Media and the Preccelerator as launchpad platforms for the world’s next digital media and technology stars.”
The partnership will also look to expand the overall service offering to clients – making available CREATV Media’s deep network of relationships and suite of business development and strategic advisory services and Stubbs Alderton’s deeply-rooted and expanding scope of legal services, led by Greg Akselrud, Chairman of the firm’s Internet, Digital Media and Entertainment practice, and Scott Alderton, Chairman of the Firm’s Venture Capital and Emerging Growth practice.
Stubbs Alderton also announced that Greg Akselrud would join the Board of Directors of the Preccelerator, that Louis Wharton, a law firm partner and current Director of the Preccelerator, would be appointed to President of the Preccelerator, and that Heidi Hubbeling, the law firm’s Director of Marketing and current Director of Operations for the Preccelerator, would be appointed to Chief Operating Officer of the Preccelerator.
About Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP is a Southern California based business law firm with robust corporate, public securities, mergers and acquisitions, entertainment, intellectual property, brand protection and business litigation practice groups focusing on the representation of, among others, venture backed emerging growth companies, middle market public companies, large technology companies, entertainment and digital media companies, investors, venture capital funds, investment bankers and underwriters. The firm’s clients represent a broad range of industries with a concentration in the technology, entertainment, videogame, apparel and medical device sectors. The firm’s mission is to provide technically excellent legal services in a consistent, highly-responsive and service-oriented manner with an entrepreneurial and practical business perspective. These principles are the hallmarks of the firm. For more information, visit https://stubbsalderton.com.
About the Preccelerator® Program
The Preccelerator® is a novel platform offered to select start-up companies out of the Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP Santa Monica office that provides interim office space, sophisticated legal services, education, networking, mentorship and $250,000 in usable perks from Google Cloud for Startups, Amazon Web Services, and HubSpot among others, with the objective of helping grow a founder’s idea from business concept to funded startup. The program also retains more than 50 active strategic mentors providing free office hours and discounted services, and provides over 50+ educational workshops and networking events each year. The expanded program will accept a greater number of companies in more formalized classes, depending upon where the companies are in their evolutionary growth, expand benefits to accepted companies, and will look to make strategic investments backed by strategic angel investors. To apply to the Preccelerator, visit www.preccelerator.com/application.
About CREATV Media
CREATV Media is a leading digital media and technology focused advisory, consulting and business development firm with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York City, Austin and Germany. The firm’s clients span the digital media and tech ecosystems – from the most innovative startups, to the most storied media companies and brands. The firm uses proven, proprietary methodologies – together with exclusive insights, access and market intelligence – to accelerate Media 2.0-related opportunities and transformational growth. The firm also frequently works with buyers and sellers to maximize M&A – positioning them to achieve the best possible outcomes, identifying potential targets and connecting them to key decision-makers, helping to structure and diligence potential transactions, and advising them every step of the way both pre and post transaction. The firm also organizes, programs and leads customized workshops, live events, pilot programs and start-up innovation labs and demo days. The firm’s ethos of fearless innovation is best summed up by its slogan “Media. Unboxed.” For more information, visit CREATV Media.
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Contact:
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles, LLP
Heidi Hubbeling
(310) 746-9803
CREATV Media
Andrea Nunn
(323) 363-9932