Media and Entertainment Law in Pakistan

The media and entertainment industry, film, television, music, digital content, publishing, advertising, and the businesses and creators behind them, runs on rights, contracts, and content, and the law governing it touches intellectual property, contract, regulation, defamation, and more. As the industry grows and increasingly moves to digital and online platforms, the legal dimension has become ever more important for creators, producers, and media businesses. Global Law Company advises creators, producers, media companies, and digital content businesses across Pakistan on media and entertainment law.

Media and entertainment is a rights-and-contracts business, in which the value lies in the content and the rights to it, and protecting and exploiting those rights through sound contracts is central. We help creators and media businesses protect their content and rights, structure and document their deals, and handle the regulatory and other legal dimensions of the industry.

The media and entertainment legal framework

Media and entertainment law in Pakistan draws together several areas of law applied to the industry. Intellectual property, principally copyright under the Copyright Ordinance 1962 and trademarks under the Trade Marks Ordinance 2001, protects content, works, and brands. Contract law governs the many agreements through which content is created, financed, and exploited. The regulatory framework governs broadcasting and electronic media (overseen by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, PEMRA) and other media activities. Defamation, privacy, and the cybercrime framework bear on content and publication, and the digital and online dimension increasingly engages the e-commerce and data frameworks. A media or entertainment matter typically brings several of these together, and we advise across them.

Content, copyright, and rights

At the heart of media and entertainment is content and the rights to it, and protecting and managing those rights is central to the industry. We advise creators, producers, and media businesses on protecting their content through copyright and related rights, on the ownership and chain of title to content (ensuring the producer or business owns or has the rights it needs), and on the licensing and exploitation of content rights. We also protect brands and names in the industry through trademarks. Because the value in media and entertainment lies in the content and the rights to it, securing, owning, and exploiting those rights soundly is the foundation of the business, and we bring the IP and rights capability, connecting with our copyright and trademark practices, that this requires.

Contracts and deals

Media and entertainment runs on contracts, between creators, producers, financiers, distributors, broadcasters, platforms, talent, and others, and the deals through which content is created, financed, and exploited determine the rights, obligations, and rewards of each party. We draft, review, and negotiate the contracts of the industry, including production, development, and financing agreements, talent and artist agreements, distribution and licensing agreements, music and publishing agreements, agreements with broadcasters and platforms, and the agreements that establish the chain of rights in content. For each, we focus on the rights granted and retained, the financial terms, and the protection of our client's position. Sound contracts that clearly establish and protect the rights and the deal are central to the industry, and we bring the specialised contract capability to provide them.

Broadcasting, regulation, and content compliance

The broadcasting and electronic-media sector, and media content generally, are subject to regulation, including the framework overseen by PEMRA for electronic media and the rules governing content, and media businesses must handle this regulatory dimension. We advise broadcasters, media businesses, and content producers on the regulatory framework applicable to their activities and content, including licensing and content compliance for electronic media, and on dealings with the regulator. As media content also raises issues of defamation, privacy, and, online, the cybercrime framework, we advise on the content-related legal risks and compliance that media businesses and creators face. Handling the regulatory and content-compliance dimension is part of operating in the media sector, and we bring the regulatory and content-law capability it requires.

Digital media, online content, and emerging issues

The shift of media and entertainment to digital and online platforms, streaming, social media, digital publishing, and online content and creators, has transformed the industry and raised new legal issues around digital rights, online distribution, platform relationships, data, and the protection and monetisation of online content. We advise digital content businesses and online creators on the legal dimensions of digital media, protecting and exploiting digital content and rights, the agreements with platforms and in the digital distribution chain, and the data, e-commerce, and content-compliance issues that online media raises. As the industry continues to move online, the digital dimension is increasingly central, and we bring the combined IP, contract, digital, and regulatory capability that digital media and online content require, helping clients protect and monetise their content in the digital age.

How Global Law Company helps

We advise creators, producers, media companies, and digital content businesses across the whole of media and entertainment law, content, copyright, and rights, contracts and deals, broadcasting, regulation, and content compliance, and digital media and online content. Because the industry is a rights-and-contracts business drawing together IP, contract, regulation, and more, we bring the combined capability it requires, connecting with our IP, contract, regulatory, and digital practices. Our focus is helping clients protect and exploit their content and rights and handle the legal dimensions of the media and entertainment industry.

Why choose Global Law Company

Media and entertainment work rewards advisers who can bring together IP, contract, regulation, and digital law in the context of content and rights, and clients value that we provide that combined capability. We protect and exploit content and rights, draft and negotiate industry deals, handle broadcasting regulation and content compliance, and handle digital media. For a rights-and-contracts industry increasingly moving online, that integrated capability is exactly what is needed.

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