Litigation requires a massive investment of time and money for an uncertain verdict. Clients in the entertainment industry must also risk irreparable damage to their reputations, such as Gossip websites and the publicity litigation offers. Once a star commences litigation, the court filings will inevitably appear on the gossip websites.
Any litigator will attest that litigation has become a lengthy and expensive proposition. It is a stressful process that destroys relationships.
As disputes are inevitable, lawyers seeking to serve their clients best must consider other forms of dispute resolution. This is to avoid much of the delay, expense and disruption of traditional litigation.
As we all know, Arbitration as one of the alternatives to dispute resolution has particular applicability in the field of entertainment law. Consider a screenwriter who was not given the proper credit in an upcoming film release. Would a court be able to quickly resolve this non-monetary dispute as efficiently as an arbitration hearing could? How about a book writer, composer and lyricist that collaborated on a musical that is about to move into a Broadway theatre, only to learn that the director who developed the piece at a hole-in-the-wall theatre demands part of the author’s share in a profit pool?
BENEFITS OF ARBITRATION IN ENTERTAINMENT DISPUTE
Arbitration is a process in which parties engage either a third-party neutral arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators to conduct an evidentiary hearing and render an award in connection with a dispute that has arisen between them.
The advantages of Arbitration in place of litigation include the following:
- Control
Parties in an arbitral proceeding can design the process to meet their needs, including choosing the arbitrator or panel of arbitrators. Parties cannot choose a judge when they are entering the arena of litigation. Moreover, parties can select arbitrators that may have expertise in the specific area of dispute. In addition, the parties will also have input in scheduling the arbitration hearing at a time that is convenient to everyone involved. Litigation does not offer parties a mutual calendar that takes into consideration everyone’s obligations.
2. Speed and Efficiency
Disputes in Arbitration tend to conclude much sooner than in litigation. Arbitrations can commence and end within months and often in less than a year. It is rare for cases in litigation to be resolved within a year, and that does not even factor in appeals which can stretch the period of resolving disputes to more years.
Economical. The arbitration process can result in substantial savings of attorney’s fees, court costs and other related expenses. The arbitration process generally does not include the time-consuming and expensive discovery that is common in litigation.
3. Finality
In Court proceedings, parties have the right to appeal the decision of a judge. In contrast, the grounds for court review of an arbitration award are minimal. The award of an arbitrator is final and binding on the parties.
Privacy. Arbitrations are conducted in private. Only the arbitrators, the parties, counsel and witnesses attend the Arbitration. Confidentiality of the arbitration proceedings, including sensitive testimony and documents, can be agreed to in advance by the parties. Finally, the awards are made confidential, so outsiders cannot make presumptions on winners or losers.
Litigation is implausible to creative people. While talented artists, creators and producers may fight for their artistic beliefs and convictions, most have accepted theirs as a collaborative process. That same spirit of collaboration can and should be extended to the resolution of disputes in the entertainment industry.
