FEATURE ARTICLE
Giving Back to
Georgia Artists
sistance to inventors through
“Georgia PATENTS,” a program backed by the USPTO to
Matthew Goings
assist solo and small group inGeorgia Lawyers for the Arts
[email protected]
ventors apply for patents. GLA
is constantly working toward
facilitating communication
Show of hands, who enjoys listenand
understanding
between the arts
ing to music? What about watching
movies, or even short YouTube vid- and legal communities, and here is
eos? Do you like to study, or simply how you can help us achieve this
admire, a piece of art in your office, goal while giving back to the arts
home, or gallery? Then you are a community.
consumer of the arts. We greatly
benefit from these artists, so what
can we, as legal professionals, do
to give back to this community? A
good place to start is Georgia Lawyers for the Arts.
For those that do not know what
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts
(“GLA”) is and what we do, GLA is
a non-profit organization that exists
Donate some of your work time
to providing pro bono work to
artists by volunteering with GLA.
Whether your area of expertise is
in entertainment, intellectual property, or another area of law wholly
unrelated to entertainment, you
have valuable skills and can provide
great benefit to these artists. GLA
has need of attorneys in all areas of
to serve the legal needs of artists
and arts organizations. Our main
means of assisting artists is by finding pro bono attorneys to represent
those that would normally be unable to afford an attorney. We also
provide educational opportunities
to artists about their legal rights and
responsibilities. GLA also offers as-
the law. We have had clients come
in with all sorts of needs; just this
year GLA has assisted clients with
cases concerning estate planning,
resolving a late artist’s will, corporate formation, commercial lease
agreements, or even negotiating a
construction contract in addition
to entertainment-related issues.
18
November 2016
Support GLA with donations. As
trite as asking for money is, it keeps
GLA’s doors open and allows us to
continue to provide assistance to
artists in need. Tickets are available to our upcoming Annual Gala
on Thursday, December 8. We will
auction artwork donated by Georgia artists.
Come present a seminar at GLA.
We offer free, educational seminars to anyone who wants to attend
and learn. These seminars cover a
wide range of topics. Some of our
recent seminars have covered such
topics as fair use, revenue streams
for musicians, general patents, and
contract basics. The more informed
these artists are about what legal
rights surround their profession,
the better.
Come to GLA events. We have several large events throughout the year,
as well as smaller, more frequent
events, that attract both artists and
legal professionals. These are great
times for artists and attorneys to just
meet and get to know one another.
This helps facilitate that communication and understanding between
industries. One of these events is
our new Art Nights. On these nights,
we feature one or two artists’ works
at GLA. Attendees can look at the
art, meet the artists, and have some
wine. You may even see some work
you want to purchase (I did).
Georgia Lawyers for the Arts sincerely hopes you all consider giving
back to the arts community that
gives us so much entertainment.
Check out www.glarts.org and www.
gapatents.org to learn more and
become a member.
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