Description:

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.