Rick Kurnit is Partner in the New York law firm Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, representing a broad clientele of advertising agencies, public relation firms, and promotion and publishing companies. He was selected by Best Lawyers in America in both advertising law and media law; by Chambers USA as one of America’s foremost lawyers in media and entertainment; and by Law and Politics magazine as one of New York’s superlawyers in Intellectual Property.
In this ABA Forum, a panel of attorneys and brand marketing experts discusses the convergence of advertising, product placement, and brand integration within entertainment, the arts, and sports. Moderated by Minneapolis sports attorney Clark C. Griffith, the panel also includes Full Circle Entertainment President and CEO Robert Riesenberg, art and architecture attorney Jessica Darraby, and advertising and entertainment attorney Rick Kurnit. Each offers a distinct perspective on the legal challenges of cross marketing as it applies to his or her area of expertise, ranging on topics such as brand control of creative content, commercial speech restrictions, IP law, and the pros and cons of federal regulations.
In this clip taken from the 2007 ABA forum entitled “How to Cross Market Your Clients Across Multimedia Platforms in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Industries,” attorney Clark C. Griffith refers to an earlier discussion regarding Ford Motors’ sponsorship of an episode of the Fox television show “24,” in which the company’s sports utility vehicles appeared throughout the episode, and in which one of them survived an accident without flipping over. He then poses the hypothetical question to attorney Rick Kurnit as to whether there would be legal concerns if, within this Ford-sponsored episode, a Toyota vehicle were to flip over in an accident. Kurnit addresses how this would cross the line with regard to advertising substantiation restrictions.
In this clip taken from the 2007 ABA forum entitled “How to Cross Market Your Clients Across Multimedia Platforms in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Industries,” a law student asks Full Circle Entertainment president and CEO Robert Riesenberg and attorney Rick Kurnit whether they think current Federal Trade Commission sponsorship identification rules are fair as they apply to the clients of each. They then address the pros and cons of these rules, explaining the ways in which they create marketing opportunities and also restrict creative freedom for content creators.
In this clip taken from the 2007 ABA forum entitled “How to Cross Market Your Clients Across Multimedia Platforms in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Industries,” entertainment and advertising attorney Rick Kurnit discusses the legal implications of brand integration as the boundary between entertainment content and commercial speech dissolves. Kurnit points to areas of legal uncertainty, such as whether brand-integrated content is governed by First Amendment rights, Fair Use laws, and FCC and FTC regulations. He also raises fundamental questions about whether or not integrated branding is in fact commercial speech, speculating as to whether this content is subject to commercial rules on product attribute substantiation and whether product appearances within the content can be considered product demonstrations. Using examples from cable and network television, Kurnit begins to answer these questions, stressing the amount of brand control over the content as a determining factor in terms of which rules apply to any given situation.
