M. Graham Coleman

Partner

T 212.603.6442 New York
Experience and responsiveness make a good adviser.
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Gray Coleman has more than 25 years of experience in intellectual property and general business law. He handles entertainment and media transactions including theater, film, and television financing and production, as well as music and publishing matters. Gray acts as production counsel for a number of independent films, television series, and specials; original productions for online/digital media; and theatrical productions on Broadway and elsewhere. Additionally, he guides clients in trademark selection, registration, licensing, and protection; copyright registration; ownership and licensing issues; manuscript/script review for protection in all media; and a wide variety of contractual arrangements for parties working in the above industries and other businesses utilizing intellectual property. He also assists in the licensing of name/likeness rights, famous trademarks and character rights; and in enforcement, litigation, and dispute resolution support in intellectual property infringement cases.

 

Practice Highlights

Entertainment productions

Gray has acted as counsel to many stage productions, including the Broadway productions of Tootsie, The Prom, Angels in America (2018 revival), Mean Girls, Sweat, The Color Purple (both the original 2005 production and the 2015 revival), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Audience, God of Carnage, and Venus In Fur, as well as several off-Broadway productions including the long-running Sleep No More. He also acts as principal counsel to numerous leading institutional theaters, including the Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, MCC Theater, The Shed, the National Theatre of Great Britain, Chicago's Goodman Theatre, San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to his stage work, Gray has advised several independent film producers whose productions include numerous Sundance Film Festival and other award-winning productions, and has also represented television producers in connection with game shows, talk shows, and many other types of reality/documentary programming, including the Actors Studio regarding its award-winning television series "Inside the Actors Studio" since its premiere in 1994 (including the move from Bravo to Ovation in 2018).

Media/IP acquisitions

Gray and his corporate colleagues have acted as counsel in connection with some of the most notable media-related acquisitions of recent years, including the sale of Blue Man Group to Cirque du Soleil and the sale of Samuel French to Concord Music.

Counsel to intellectual property owners

Gray represents a number of authors/owners of distinguished plays and musicals, including Annie, Anything Goes, Arsenic and Old Lace, and others throughout the alphabet, and also advises a variety of clients on trademark and licensing matters, including book and magazine publishers, film and video producers, online retailers and information service providers, and designers and manufacturers of consumer goods.