Mr. Fitzgerald specializes in entertainment and business litigation as well as transactional matters for entertainment industry clients. He has represented actors, producers, writers, showrunners, musicians, professional athletes, production and distribution companies, clients in the fitness, apparel, toy, and gem industries, the entertainment guilds, personal and business managers, and talent agents and agencies.
Mr. Fitzgerald handles disputes in the areas of contract, profit participation and “vertical integration,” financing, distribution, copyright, trademark, trade secrets, partnership, franchise, fraud, rights of privacy, and defamation. He also negotiates and drafts agreements for intellectual property rights holders, entertainment industry executives, writers, producers, independent filmmakers, and unscripted programming creators, among others.
He has written numerous articles on legal issues in the entertainment industry, has appeared on several panels discussing entertainment litigation, and has discussed legal issues in entertainment for media outlets such as The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, E! Online, the Daily Journal, and KPCC’s “Air Talk” radio show.
Prior to joining KWIKA in 2007, Mr. Fitzgerald worked in the Business and Legal Affairs department of Universal Pictures, negotiating and drafting agreements to acquire intellectual property rights for Universal and engaging talent to render services on Universal films. While at Universal, he also handled above- and below-the-line agreements for films in production and oversaw all of Universal’s agreements with visual and special effects companies. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, Chad lives in Westlake Village with his wife and twin sons.
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