Creative Law Network

Home
United States
Denver, CO
Creative Law Network

Directions Website

Creative Law Network helps creative people and businesses with entertainment, intellectual property, See experience & accolades here: http://bit.ly/2yKx8WN

Creative Law Network:

Creative Law Network is grounded in a sincere passion for helping creative individuals and businesses navigate the complex world of contracts, negotiations, and business law. We know these challenges well because we faced them ourselves and we use that experience to help our clients achieve and succeed. See more here: http://bit.ly/2iHxmmR

Dave Ratner:

Following a career in the music industry, Dave Ratner now specializes in entertainment, intellectual property, and business law.

10/11/2026

Let's break it down 👇

📌 What's special about A-Corps?

An A-Corp is a type of business entity, a specialized form of LLC designed for artists.

The purpose of the A-Corp law is to protect artists’ interests, especially regarding business control and intellectual property. An A-Corp must:
- Be at least 51% artist-owned.
- Have a clearly stated artistic mission.
- Return artist-owned IP to artist members if the A-Corp dissolves.

📌 A-Corp vs LLC

Practically, many of the protections offered by the A-Corp already existed through customized LLC agreements. However, A-Corps create a framework specifically tailored to artist ownership, governance, and intellectual property (IP) concerns.
Existing Colorado LLCs can convert into A-Corps by amending their governing documents and meeting A-Corp requirements.

📌 The Required Documents

A-Corps are formed by filing Articles of Organization (a public document) with the Colorado Secretary of State, which includes:
- The A-Corp’s name
- Its artistic mission
- Names of organizers
- Registered agent information
- Whether the company is a public benefit company

Most of the details about how the company operates will be contained in its Operating Agreement (an internal, detailed document), governing:
- Ownership
- Voting
- Management
- Profit distributions
- IP
- Member departures
- Dissolution procedures

📌 Can I use AI to create these documents?

We warn you against this, if only because no established A-Corp templates currently exist for AI systems to learn from.

📌 Where to Get Help

You may have many more questions in mind... but don't worry. We'll keep creating resources and continue working with the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) and Colorado Attorneys for the Arts - CAFTA to support the creative community.

We'll certainly post updates here, so make sure to ✅Follow!

10/06/2026

5 tips if you get a deal 🤑🤑🤑

1. Sync licensing uses both composition/publishing and sound recording/master. Terms and fees are individually negotiated.

2. Be specific on the grant of rights!
- All TV, free TV, pay TV?
- Theatrical, non-theatrical performance?
- Streaming internet, download?
- Film festival?
- Social media?
- All media?!

3. Be specific on the use.
- Foreground?
- Background?
- Credits?
- Theme song?
- How much of the song is used?
- Exclusive or non-exclusive?
- Can edits/changes be made?

4. 👀 Beware of offers for “exposure”!

5. Beware of language granting free performance rights!

Got more questions about sync deals? Ask away in the comments. 👇

👋 We are Creative Law Network, sharing practical legal insights for creative individuals and businesses—without the legalese! Follow us so you can learn more about how to protect your creative work!

10/04/2026

First full album release 🎤✨

Our is on Myrically Joe Penn, a rising Denver rap artist with a truly unique and inspiring story. Miraculously surviving a severe traumatic brain injury in a construction accident, he turned to art therapy and music to cope, recover, and gain a fresh start in life. Within six months of his injury, Myrically began writing his own raps and chose his artist name, a mix of Miracle and Lyrically, which describes him perfectly. 💯

And now, a first ✨📣 full album release ✨📣

Check out the self-titled album MYRICALLY with 14 tracks here: https://open.spotify.com/album/0vnTcLAtwg1n31t47Jb8Ss?si=1unRiOIBSt-SAB_xqo8L6Q&utm_source=copy-link

Would you join us in celebrating and wishing more success for Myrically? 🎉👇

👋 Hi, we are Creative Law Network! Aside from featuring our awesome creative clients, we also share practical legal insights for musicians and creative businesses—without the legalese! Follow along for tips on protecting and growing your creative work.

09/30/2026

Why do some creators lose when fighting for their copyrights?

There's the case of the Carlton dance and Fortnite, where the creator of the dance tried to say, "Fortnite, you can't use that because that is a copyrighted work!" In the end, the Copyright Office's finding was that the dance moves weren't enough to be copyrightable.

That's the tricky thing about copyrights—we don't have a set rule on how many moves 💃 (or words 📖, or notes 🎵) make an infringement, because creativity is variable and subjective.

But if you are an artist who wants to protect your work, Don’t let this discourage you. As a copyright owner, you have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, display, perform, sell, and license your copyrighted work. Your work is valuable and important!

In our work with clients, we explain copyright law (without the legalese!), help them protect their rights, and guide them through contracts and agreements for their greatest possible advantage.

Found this helpful? Follow for more tips on protecting your work and growing your income as a creative 🎶🎨📖✨

09/22/2026

Looking to elevate your story through video? 🎥✨

Our is on Big Pictures Media, an award-winning, full-service video production company based in Denver, CO and serving clients worldwide.

Tom & Teri Miller founded Big Pictures Media over twenty years ago, believing that impactful visual storytelling can entertain, inspire, and foster positive change in the world. Since then, they have filmed inspirational stories for clients like ESPN, Oprah Winfrey, and National Geographic and their work has been seen on HBO, Showtime, and even in the galleries of the Kennedy Space Center. 😍

If your agency, business or brand needs help in creating engaging videos, commercials and social media content, the Big Pictures Media team is the fun, collaborative and highly experienced production partner you are looking for. 💯

Follow them at Big Pictures Media, Inc. and check out their portfolio at bigpicturesmedia.com.

👋 Hi, we are Creative Law Network! Aside from featuring our awesome creative clients, we also share practical legal insights for creative individuals and businesses—without the legalese! Follow along for tips on protecting and growing your creative work.

09/20/2026

Ooops, wrong concert 🙊

Someone reportedly spent $500 on tickets to a Demon Hunter concert believing the tickets were for a KPop Demon Hunters event. 😬

More about trademark classifications 👇

When you register a trademark, you indicate the goods and/or services you are offering through a numbered classification system.

For example, the three main classes used for many musicians are Classes 9, 25, and 41.
Class 9 = entertainment products
Class 25 = apparel, shirts, hats, hoodies, etc.
Class 41 = entertainment services

A trademark registration protects you within the classes you are registered in. It can allow you to stop others who are using a similar trademark in these specific classes.

This is what Demon Hunter is claiming through the lawsuit: "Demon Hunter’s established identity is becoming increasingly obscured within recorded music, live touring and merchandise-related channels due to overlapping use by the KPop Demon Hunters brand."

We'll have to wait and see what the courts decide. 👀

Thoughts? Questions?

If you're overwhelmed about the process of registering your trademark, you're not alone. Our trademark attorneys have helped countless individuals and businesses prepare and customize their applications for the best chance of securing a federal trademark registration. 📩 Just DM "trademark" and let's chat about the support you need.

Sources: Celebrity Access, The Guardian, LA Times

09/15/2026

So, should you form an A-Corp?!

If you missed our online session... you missed A LOT. But stop the scroll now because the full recording is now up! Save it on your watchlist: https://youtu.be/c9JcySzgCa0?si=q8yiJT2Y9a02PS12

We thank everyone who registered and showed up at this lunch hour discussion: artists from various disciplines, arts administrators, attorneys, and even guests outside of Colorado. (Drop a comment if you were there! 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️)

This was the result of months of planning and preparing, and guess what? This is only the beginning!

We're excited to create more resources and continue working with the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) and Colorado Attorneys for the Arts - CAFTA to support the creative community through this historic advocacy for artists' rights, business control, and intellectual property.

And we'll also share the insights right here on our page, so make sure you hit Follow and comment below with your questions so we can answer them in the next posts 👇

09/09/2026

The answers are found on... 🙈

contracts.

If you're a musician, you don’t have to be scared of contracts. They can be long and wordy, but contracts essentially answer the questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

The language used in a typical contract (yes, the legalese) helps us cover all the bases. A solid contract helps our clients avoid:
- losing money
- losing control
- and even losing ownership 😰 of their music

The good news: A trusted lawyer can guide you step-by-step in drafting, writing, understanding, and reviewing your contracts to ensure your creative pursuits are protected and valued fairly.

Need help with your contracts? Reach out to our experienced entertainment lawyers 📩

👋 We are Creative Law Network, sharing practical legal insights for creative individuals and businesses—without the legalese! Follow us so you can learn more about how to navigate the complex world of intellectual property and business law to protect your creative work.

09/04/2026

If you love music, and you're passionate about music education, this one's for you 👇

Imagine sitting on a porch with Elephant Revival and 265 kindred spirits—something unique and amazing you can experience for a beautiful cause.

Swallow Hill Music is hosting an extraordinary benefit event, "An Evening with Elephant Revival" on Saturday, September 19, 2026. And this is not your typical concert. It's an intimate event with only 265 seats! 😱

And it's a show with a purpose. Every seat supports access to music 💯. With every ticket sold, it directly supports music education in schools, launching the careers of new artists, and creating meaningful teaching opportunities for professional musicians.

Swallow Hill Music is a Denver-based nonprofit organization with a 45-year legacy of building community through music education and live performances. It's our pleasure to represent this organization at Creative Law Network, with our own Dave Ratner serving on its Board of Directors. We would be so grateful for your attendance and support!

An Evening with Elephant Revival
September 19, 2026
Saturday, 7 pm
Get tickets at https://swallowhillmusic.org/elephant-revival-benefit/

P.S. Know someone who would love to be at this one-of-a-kind evening? Tag them in the comments and share this post so it reaches them—before tickets run out! 🤩

08/28/2026

Colorado recently made history for artists and creative enterprises. The Colorado Artist Companies Act was signed into law in June and creates first-of-its-kind Artist Corporations (or A-Corps).

This was a huge advocacy victory for artists across Colorado and the country. Now what?! What exactly is an Artist Corporation or A-Corp? What will it do? What won’t it do? What’s next?

Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) and Colorado Attorneys for the Arts - CAFTA are hosting a virtual info session on September 2, where Colorado artists can:
✅ learn more about A-Corps: how this legislation came to be in Colorado, what’s included in the statute, and the legal context
✅ ask their own questions about A-Corps
✅ discuss what’s next for Colorado’s creative sector

The session will be led by CBCA Deputy Director Meredith Badler and Creative Law Network's Dave Ratner.

Save your seat and share this with the Colorado artist community!

📅 September 2, 2026
⌚ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
📍 Virtual event
Register: https://cbca.org/event/what-colorado-artists-need-to-know-about-a-corps/

Address

2701 Lawrence Street, Suite 104
Denver, CO
80205

Website

http://www.creativelawnetwork.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Creative Law Network posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your practice to be the top-listed law practice in Denver?