In our continuing efforts to provide the new media industry with useful training and educational materials, the New Media Producer’s Toolkit consisting of 12 key sample agreements and annotated commentary, is designed to assist producers and other non-lawyers in recognizing and understanding some of the legal issues and business practices that they may encounter in the new media industry in Canada. The Toolkit will provide you with an introduction to basic legal principles to assist you in communicating with your legal counsel and your business partners, providing you with a framework for developing negotiating strategies. Although these agreements have been designed for producers of new media projects that may be applying for funding to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, they may be adapted and applied for new media production generally. They are works in progress, as the world of new media is changing rapidly, so do legal principles and approaches. We welcome the industry’s feedback and comments.

All of these agreements have been prepared on behalf of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund by new media lawyer, Mary Barroll. So, here are a few words of legal advice from Mary Barroll:

“Due to the ever evolving technology and business practices inherent in the new media industry, the agreements included in the Toolkit do not reflect every possible business arrangement or form of media that might be used in a new media production, but it’s hoped that they will prove useful to producers by providing some guidance in dealing with tricky issues and potential expectations of partners, financiers and distributors. The Toolkit is provided for educational purposes only. It is meant as a general introduction and a guide to some of the potential business and legal issues new media producers may face in developing, producing and distributing their new media productions. Consequently, nothing in the Toolkit should be construed as constituting legal advice. Many of the legal principles discussed are subject to exceptions and qualifications and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with legal counsel and receiving advice based on the circumstances of a particular transaction. Finally, given the speed at which the new media industry is constantly changing, we recognize that the Toolkit can only benefit from the experience and feedback of producers and other industry players. We invite and welcome your comments and suggestions for improvement. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at mbarroll@calcap.ca or call (416) 597-8500 extension 221.

I would like to thank the wonderful staff at the Bell Fund who assisted me in planning and preparing the New Media Producer’s Toolkit. In particular, I would like to thank Andra Sheffer, who has provided her wisdom, extensive knowledge of the industry and guidance in creating a set of annotated agreements that we hope will benefit emerging producers in the new media industry in Canada.”

Bio – Mary E. Barroll, B.A., L.L.B.

Mary Barroll practices business law with an emphasis on entertainment, technology and intellectual property. Her clients include television, film and new media producers, software and website developers and other businesses involved in the media industry.

After working as an anchor and reporter in the television news industry, Mary entered law school at Queen’s University, where she completed her LLB and joined the national law firm of Bennett Jones. In 2000, she joined Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. as Director of Business and Legal Affairs for Broadcasting, responsible for licensing independent productions for all the Alliance Atlantis national television networks and the company’s websites, including the web-casting property, U8TV. Mary also worked as in-house legal counsel to the Canadian Television Fund, a national organization that finances television productions. She is now completing her Masters of law studying emerging issues involving new media and online entertainment and commerce, teaches part-time at Ryerson University and the Banff New Media Institute and carries on her own legal practice.

Ms. Barroll has won numerous national industry awards, including the CWC-Corus New Media Management Career Accelerator Fellowship, the Jeanne Sauve Professional Development Award sponsored by the Department of Canadian Heritage and participant in the Alliance Atlantis Banff Television Executive Program. Mary is an active public speaker about entertainment, new media and Internet law for organizations such as the Banff New Media Institute, the Banff Television Festival, the Canadian Film Centre, Women in Film & Television – Toronto, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and the Ontario Media Development Corporation. Mary is the former president of the Alberta chapter of Women in Film and Television, is a member of the steering committee (Toronto chapter) of Canadian Women in Communications and formerly the Executive of the Entertainment, Media and Communications Section of the Ontario Bar Association.