Keystone Law

IT and telecoms.

Nicholas is a highly experienced commercial lawyer with particular expertise in rights acquisition and exploitation, IT agreements and general commercial contracts such as agency, distribution and supply contracts. He regularly advises on gambling law issues. Prior to joining Keystone, he was a partner at Speechly Bircham LLP and has previous in-house experience at Gullane Entertainment and the publisher De Agostini. Nicholas is a regular contributor to a number of trade journals and frequently speaks at conferences. Nicholas read law at Oxford University. Nicholas s areas of expertise are media and entertainment; IP (including sponsorship and other forms of exploitation); IT/outsourcing; general commercial contracts (including agency, distribution, supply and logistics); e-commerce; gambling/prize competitions/free prize draws; due diligence and consumer law. Nicholas s key achievements include (i) advising formerly AIM-listed rights owning company on all aspects of various television productions (including rights acquisition, contributors and co-production arrangements), broadcast arrangements, brand management and ancillary rights exploitation programmes, including international licensing and publishing (including e-books) programmes, together with international trade mark filing strategy; (ii) advising on a number of rights acquisition transactions, including full due diligence on complex underlying rights position and exploitation arrangements; (iii) advising international publishing company on variety of publishing arrangements, together with copyright and licensing advice for covermounts, including liaising with foreign lawyers; (iv) advising luxury brands group in respect of co-marketing agreement with major department store and its sponsorship of major golf tournament; (v) advising French costume manufacturer in relation to royalty dispute and licence renewals in respect of Spiderman films; (vi) advising Apple application developer in respect of co-development and co-publishing arrangements, including with major publishers and US rights owners; (vii) advising theatre company in respect of interpolated rights pertaining to well known songwriter; (viii) advising a UK leading greeting cards company on print on demand and licensing and distribution arrangements in general.

Trained Field Fisher Waterhouse, qualified 1999. Gullane Entertainment, 2001-02; De Agostini UK Ltd, 2002-03; Penningtons, 2003-06; Speechly Bircham, 2006-12; Keystone Law, 2013.