Christopher C. Murray
Partner
Entertainment & Media Practice Group
O'Melveny & Myers LLP
Century City Office
1999 Avenue of the Stars
Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90067-6035
Telephone:(310) 246-6855
Facsimile:(310) 246-6779
E-Mail:CMURRAY@OMM.COM
CHRISTOPHER C. MURRAY is a Partner in the Entertainment & Media Department of the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers LLP. He was Chairman of The Entertainment & Media Practice Group for over eight years (1995-2004), and has had over 30 years experience as a specialist in all legal and business aspects of the production, financing and distribution of motion pictures and television programs, as well as DVD's and video on demand, digital music, interactive and online media, videogames, the Internet, musical concerts, publishing, intellectual property licensing and the acquisition of entertainment companies, film libraries and music publishers. He also counsels clients in the fields of copyright, trademark and merchandising/licensing. He has acted as outside counsel to Warner Bros., Time-Warner, Turner Broadcasting, HBO, Castle Rock Entertainment, Fox, Sony and Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), and advertising agencies ranging from Omnicom to Dentsu and Hakuhodo. He also represents individual performers (e.g., Carol Burnett, James Garner), directors (George Stevens),producers and executives. In the merchandising area, he has acted as counsel for toy manufacturers, television and motion picture companies and sports organizations.
Mr. Murray also specializes in the representation of companies based outside the U.S. in connection with their motion picture, television, musical concert, internet and publishing activities in North America and throughout the world. The companies he has represented include Convergence PLC (U.K.), M6 Television (France), Itoch (C.Itoh & Co.),Fuji TV, Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Hakuhodo, Hyundai, Korakuen (Tokyo Dome International), Marubeni, NHK Enterprises, Tokyo Broadcasting Systems, Hit Entertainment, Singapore Telecommunications, Japan Satellite Broadcasting, Nomura Securities, Samsung, Tokuma Enterprises. Production IG, Studio Ghibli & NTT Data\Cinema Cruise.
Mr. Murray has lectured and written articles on intellectual property and the digital revolution. He has acted as legal counsel (on a wide range of Internet related matters, ranging from e-commerce, content licensing, domain name disputes, and video on demand, to strategic internet ventures between companies in disparate industries) to a number of companies, ranging from established entities like IBM, Yahoo!,Microsoft, NetFlix, Napster, Warner Bros. Online, Sony Online Entertainment Inc., EMI Music, Roxio, TiVo, Rhythm & Hues, Vanguard Films and Digital Domain (leading digital production studios and special effects creators), SanDisk, and MobiTV, to many start-up and emerging Internet and technology companies.
Education:
University of Southern California School of Law, J.D. 1974
Order of the Coif (Executive Editor of Lead Articles, Southern California Law Review, 1973-1974);Award for graduating ranking #1 in the class
University of Illinois, B.A. 1971
Phi Beta Kappa
Professional Activities:
Law Clerk, Honorable Walter Ely, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1974-1975
Member, Intellectual Property Law Section of California State Bar Association, Los Angeles World Affairs Council; Symposium Advisory Committee, UCLA Entertainment Symposium (1987-Present); Planning Committee, U.S.C. Entertainment Law & Business Institute (1986-Present); Association of Media & Entertainment Counsel,
Study Committee Member, "Intellectual Property Rights and the Emerging Information Infrastructure;" Computer Science and Telecommunications Board for the National Research Council/National Science Foundation
Lecturer in Law, Stanford Law School (teaching Entertainment Industry Transactions Seminar 1984-1990)
Arbitrator, American Film Marketing Association (1986-Present)
Speaker: : "Entertainment and Corporate Communication Management: Academic Preparation and Professional Opportunities" (Washington State University (April 2006), "Contracting in the Face of New Technologies: The View from the Studios" Haas School of Business, University of California –Berkeley (March 2005), “Hollywood & Digital: The Integration of Entertainment and Technology: When Should Content Go Cross Platform?” -UCLA (November 2004),“Lessons From Hollywood On Content & "Hard Lessons From Hollywood: Content & Convergence" (FWE CEO Summit, Redwood City,October 2003);"What’s the Latest In Digital Rights Management?”, Center for Management in the Information Economy Conference, Anderson School at UCLA (April, 2002);“Protecting Intellectual Property Assets from Infringement on Internet” presented for British American Business Council Global Conference (November 2001);"Film & Interactive Online Entertainment" Practising Law Institute (Los Angeles, April 2000);"The Internet Explosion: New Challenges in the Law" (Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, August 2000);"Identifying, Valuing & Protecting Digital Assets"-The IOC World Conference on Sport and New Media-International Olympic Committee (Lausanne, Switzerland, December 2000);"The Nexus of Technology, Intellectual Property, and Entertainment Law" panelist (Southwestern University School of Law - March, 2001); "Counseling Clients in the Entertainment Industry" (Practicing Law Institute - April, 2001);"Intellectual Property Piracy On The Internet" Digital Asset Management Conference (London, March 2000); "MP3's On The Internet: Is Copyright Dead?" Bay Angels.Com Investors Conference (Sausalito, March 2000); "The Digital Dilemma Continues: Recent Legal Warfare In Cyberspace" Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (Stanford, April 2000); "Film & Interactive Online Entertainment" Practising Law Institute (Los Angeles, April 2000); "Counseling Clients in the Entertainment Industry" (Practicing Law Institute April 1999); Franklin Pierce Law Center's Seventh Biennial Intellectual Property Conference: "Digital Technology and Copyright: A Threat or A Challenge?" (November 1998); "Dealing with the Dilemma of Copyright in the Digital Age" (Digital Asset Management Conference, USC/Annenberg Center, March 1998); "Motion Picture Finance Seminar" (Nikkei, 1990-1994); "Structuring Investments in the Global Market for Motion Pictures" (Nomura, October 1990); "Intellectual Property: Multimedia's Achilles Heel (Comdex, April 1992); "Movie Dealmaking In The Interactive Age," Screen Entertainment 2000 (London, November 1994)
Author/Co-Author: "From Book To Hollywood Film: Structuring Agreements Granting Motion Picture and Television Rights to Publications", a chapter in "Winning Legal Strategies For Publishing" (Aspatore Books 2005;)"Hard Lessons From Hollywood" (Euromoney Guide To The Worlds Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers) (2003); "The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age" (National Academy Press, 2000); "An Overview of United States Intellectual Property Law," in Foreign Direct Investment In The United States, Sweet & Maxwell, C.H. Beck, Editions Dalloz (1993);
Honors: Named to The Hollywood Reporter's list of "Power Lawyers: Top 100 Outside Counsel" (July 2007, July 2008); Member of the 2007 Edition of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America, Selected for the Lawdragon 500 Group, “New Stars, New Worlds”(2006), described "as those who are carrying the profession to new frontiers"; Named as one of the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America ("Helping Hollywood master the digital age, byte by byte") (September 2005-2007),Named one of "The 100 Most Influential Attorneys in California" by Los Angeles & San Francisco Daily Journal(October 27, 2003 & September 27, 2004); Named as one of the Best Lawyers In America-Entertainment Law (1995-2009)(www.BestLawyers.com); Included in the Chambers USA "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" Directory as a Leader in Media and Entertainment Law(2004-2008); Named a "Southern California Super Lawyer For 2004-2008" by Los Angeles Magazine; Named in the September 2003 issue of IP Law & Business magazine (American Lawyer Publications) as one of the Best Lawyers In America:Entertainment Law; Chosen for inclusion in the Euromoney Guide To The World's Leading Technology, Media & Telecommunications Lawyers (www.expertguides.com) (1999-2008);Chosen as Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year by the Century City Bar Association (March 2001); Named one of The 50 Top Lawyers by the Los Angeles Business Journal’s "Who’s Who In Law" annual issue (February 2001); Selected by Cyber, Esq. Magazine (Los Angeles Daily Journal) as one of only 16 lawyers chosen from around the country to make the "Suite 16" ranks, which identifies the top lawyers at the cutting edge of new media and the information age; Named one of "The Top 100 Most Influential Attorneys" in California by California Law Business (October 30, 2000)
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