For a long time, publishing was considered a stable business with set ways of doing things and well-established business practices.  But the industry is evolving so rapidly that many of the old certainties are being discarded.  How you reach your audicence, the way in which they consume the product, how they pay for it,  how it is created and distributed, the relationship between you and your customers - many of whom are now not only readers, but also listeners, viewers and content generators - and their influence on the course of your company are constantly developing.  Old assumptions about national markets and audiences have been thrown away as the internet opens up a global audience.

Almost any business that can create content can become a publisher, from traditional newspaper or magazine companies to online information providers or mobile communications networks.  However, the legal requirements when publishing online are as strict for a small start-up as for a global media conglomerate.  We can help with the key aspects, such as acquiring rights to content and defining terms and conditions that will apply anywhere a website is accessed. 

We can advise on:

• Corporate acquisitions and disposals
• Joint ventures
• Competition issues
• Publishing agreements
• Distribution agreements
• Title or library acquisitions and disposals
• Intellectual propery exploitation and convergence
• Rights clearance
• Digitisation of content
• Digital rights management
• Rights syndication and secondary rights management
• Libel and defamation
• Data protection and privacy
• Advertising, marketing and sponsorship
• Outsourcing and offshoring

Examples of our recent experience include:

• Acting for market intelligence firm Datamonitor plc on its £502m recommended offer from Informa pl
• Advising United Business Media plc in relation to its acquisition of Ithaca Holdings Limited for £14.25m
• Advising News International on a wide range of content issues, publishing contracts and commercial agreements, including for digital and mobile activities

Ray Berg
t +44 (0)20 7105 7234
ray.berg@osborneclarke.com