William Archer

William Archer is an attorney who represents film, music and other content creators and artists, celebrities, influencers, record companies, music publishers, film and television production companies, and other owners, licensors and licensees of intellectual property. He is the principal of Archer Entertainment Law PC, a boutique law firm specializing in entertainment law and intellectual property. Before that he was one of the two National Co-Chairs of the Entertainment, Media & Sports Practice of a 1,500+ attorney firm and, before that, practiced with one of the premier boutique entertainment law firms. Before practicing law, William received his BA (philosophy/psychology), MA (philosophy) and JD from the University of Arizona where he also completed all of the course work for his Ph.D. in philosophy with a major in contemporary moral philosophy, and where he also taught philosophy for four years. That academic background provided an enduring foundation for the analytical approach William takes to understanding his client's problems and planning and implementing effective strategies to help them achieve their goals.

William is the principal of Archer Entertainment Law PC, where he provides a full range of transactional, intellectual property and litigation services for clients throughout the entertainment industries, including motion picture, television, music, new media and publishing. William regularly provides start-up advice; forms entities; assists his clients with becoming signatories to the various guild agreements; negotiates and drafts financing agreements, agreements for the acquisition of motion picture rights in and to screenplays and other literary properties, life story rights agreements, film production contracts (with producers, directors, actors, editors, composers and others), soundtrack album agreements, recording contacts, exclusive songwriter and co-publishing agreements, music publishing administration agreements, music producer agreements, side artist agreements, synch and master use licenses, influencer agreements and distribution and licensing agreements. He also advises clients on clearance issues; registers copyrights; prosecutes trademarks; and litigates copyright, right of publicity, breach of contract and other entertainment and media-related claims..

William recently has closed and assisted clients in closing transactions with Paramount, Dreamworks, the BBC, ABC, Fox, E!, Lifetime, BET, Nippon TV, Appian Way (Leonardo DiCaprio’s company), Lucky Chap Entertainment (Margot Robbie’s company), United Artists Media Group (Mark Burnett’s company), Reveille (now Shine), Universal Music, Warner Music, E-One, Fuse, True Entertainment and others. William represents numerous international clients including clients in Germany, Austria, Italy, England, Scotland, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Finland, Canada, China, Korea and New Zealand.

William has litigated a wide range of entertainment industry disputes, including copyright, trademark, right of publicity, idea submission, contract, Talent Agencies Act, employment and reuse fee disputes. He also has represented entertainment industry clients in WGA, IFTA, AFMA and ICDR arbitrations.

William's publications and presentations include include: Copyright in the Entertainment Industries - Current Laws in Germany, Europe and the US and How TTIP [the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership] Could Affect Them, University of Music Franz Liszt, Weimar, Germany, December 7, 2015; “Getting Real” (an analysis of right of publicity, copyright and other legal issues in the reality TV context), Los Angeles Lawyer, 28th Annual Entertainment Law Issue, May 2012; “Keeping Score: Music Rights in Film”, Los Angeles Lawyer, 25th Annual Entertainment Law Issue, May 2009; “From ‘Ace in the Hole’ to ‘Rounders’ – State and Federal Courts in California Have Dealt a Few Good Cards to Screenwriters and Other Idea Purveyors”, Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook 2006-2007 Edition, Thomson-West, 2006; and “Artists’ Rights: Understanding Them, Protecting Them and Fighting for Them”, Entertainment Settlements and Negotiations: Leading Lawyers on Contract Negotiations, Dispute Resolution and Litigation Issues in Entertainment and Sports Law, Aspatore Books, 2006.