TRW & Co · Technology, Data & IP
Media and Entertainment Lawyers in London
Media lawyers in London advise studios, broadcasters, streaming services, publishers, music and games businesses, creators and brands on rights, financing, regulation and disputes. The Media Act 2024, the Online Safety Act 2023, CMA fining powers and the copyright and AI debate have all changed the rules, so content businesses need joined-up advice in 2026.
Key pointValue in media sits in the chain of title: without signed written assignments from every contributor, financiers, distributors and insurers will not proceed, and whoever holds the missing right gains leverage. Audit rights at every financing stage, not only when a buyer asks.
At a glance
Media Act 2024
Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 brought new rules on public service prominence, on-demand services and radio, which Ofcom is implementing in phases.
Online Safety Act fines
Ofcom can fine services up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, for breaching online safety duties.
Independent film credit
BFI-certified low-budget films with core costs under £23.5 million can claim a 53% Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit on up to £15 million of core costs.
CMA fines directly
Since 6 April 2025 the CMA can decide consumer law breaches itself and fine up to 10% of global turnover, including for subscription traps.
Copyright and AI unsettled
The March 2026 government report dropped a broad commercial data mining exception as its preferred option, and UK training law remains undecided.
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What media lawyers in London cover: the scope of media and entertainment law
Media lawyers in London advise the businesses and people who make, finance, distribute and monetise content: broadcasters and streaming services, film and television producers, publishers, music companies, games studios, live event promoters, talent, creators and the brands that work with them. The work spans contracts, intellectual property, regulation, financing and disputes, often on the same project.
Media and entertainment becomes a legal question at predictable moments. A project needs rights: in a book, a format, a script, music, footage or a performer's contribution. It needs money: from commissioners, distributors, financiers, tax credits or co-producers. It needs to reach audiences lawfully: through a broadcaster, a platform, an app or a venue that is regulated. And when it is published, it can attract claims for defamation, privacy, copyright infringement or breach of consumer law.
The UK framework has changed sharply since 2023. The Online Safety Act 2023 created a new regulatory regime for platforms, the Media Act 2024 rewrote parts of broadcasting regulation, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 gave the Competition and Markets Authority direct fining powers over consumer law, and the debate on copyright and artificial intelligence moved to government policy. Media lawyers London businesses instruct now need to track all of these at once.
The legal and regulatory framework
Broadcasting, on-demand and the Media Act 2024
Ofcom regulates television, radio and on-demand services under the Communications Act 2003 and the broadcasting legislation that sits around it. Licensed broadcasters must comply with the Ofcom Broadcasting Code on matters such as harm and offence, accuracy and due impartiality in news, fairness and privacy, and commercial references.
The Media Act 2024, which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024, makes provision about public service television, the regulation of television selection services and on-demand programme services, radio and radio selection services, and repealed section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Ofcom is implementing it in phases, including rules on the prominence of public service content on connected TV platforms and bringing larger on-demand services closer to broadcast-style content standards. Streaming services should check whether, and from when, they fall within the new rules.
Online platforms and the Online Safety Act 2023
The Online Safety Act 2023 imposes duties on user-to-user services and search services with links to the UK, wherever the provider is based. Services must assess and mitigate the risk of illegal content, and those likely to be accessed by children must meet child safety duties, which can require highly effective age assurance. Ofcom can fine up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. Fan communities, video platforms, games with chat functions and creator platforms can all be caught.
Copyright, performers' rights and moral rights
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 protects literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts and typographical arrangements. Copyright arises automatically without registration. The Act also gives performers rights over the recording and exploitation of their performances, and gives authors and directors moral rights, including the right to be identified and to object to derogatory treatment, which can be waived in writing but not assigned. Assignments of copyright must be in writing and signed by the assignor.
Defamation, privacy and reporting restrictions
Under section 1 of the Defamation Act 2013, a statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the claimant's reputation, and for companies that means serious financial loss. The Supreme Court held in Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd [2019] UKSC 27 that serious harm is judged on the actual impact of the statement. Claims for misuse of private information, breach of confidence and data protection run alongside defamation and are often the more powerful tool for a claimant. Our defamation and reputation team handles both sides of these claims.
Consumer law, subscriptions and advertising
Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has allowed the CMA to decide for itself that consumer law has been broken and to impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. The Act also contains a new subscription contracts regime covering sign-up information, reminders and easy cancellation. The government published its response on implementation in April 2026, and the detailed rules are being brought in by secondary legislation, so streaming, membership and fan-club models should check the commencement timetable. Advertising and influencer marketing must comply with the CAP and BCAP Codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority; our advertising and marketing team covers this.
| Area | Main legislation or code | Regulator or forum | Typical issues |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcast and on-demand | Communications Act 2003; Media Act 2024; Ofcom Broadcasting Code | Ofcom | Licensing, content standards, impartiality, prominence, sponsorship |
| Online platforms | Online Safety Act 2023 | Ofcom | Illegal content risk assessments, child safety, age assurance |
| Copyright and performers' rights | Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 | High Court Intellectual Property List; IPEC | Chain of title, licensing, infringement, AI training and outputs |
| Reputation and privacy | Defamation Act 2013; misuse of private information; UK GDPR | King's Bench Division Media and Communications List | Pre-publication review, complaints, injunctions, claims |
| Consumer and subscriptions | Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 | CMA | Subscription traps, drip pricing, fake reviews, ticketing practices |
| Advertising | CAP and BCAP Codes | Advertising Standards Authority | Influencer labelling, claims substantiation, gambling and HFSS restrictions |
Production, financing and tax credits
For media lawyers in London, production work is about stacking rights and money so that a project can be completed and sold. The financier, the distributor and the errors and omissions insurer will all want to see an unbroken chain of title, a clear budget and a recoupment waterfall that matches every agreement.
Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit
Film and high-end television tax reliefs now operate as the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC) under Corporation Tax. HMRC guidance sets the credit at 34% of qualifying expenditure for most films and TV programmes and 39% for children's TV and animation.
Independent films certified by the British Film Institute as low-budget, with core costs under £23.5 million, can claim 53% on up to £15 million of core costs, for costs incurred from 1 April 2024. Qualifying UK visual effects costs attract a 39% rate and sit outside the 80% cap on core costs. The production must be certified as British, and the credit is taxable, so the net benefit should be modelled carefully.
Deal structures
Common structures include commissions by broadcasters or streamers, which often take extensive rights in exchange for full funding; independent productions funded by pre-sales, gap finance and equity; and official co-productions under treaties that let a project qualify as national in more than one country. Each structure changes who owns the IP, who controls exploitation and how revenue flows back to investors and talent, which is why producers ask media lawyers in London to review the whole deal stack together.
A media asset is only as valuable as the paperwork behind it. Financiers, buyers and insurers all start with the chain of title.
Copyright and artificial intelligence
AI has become the most contested question for content owners. UK copyright law has a text and data mining exception only for non-commercial research. In Getty Images v Stability AI [2025] EWHC 2863 (Ch), the High Court rejected a secondary infringement claim because the trained model weights did not store copies of the claimant's works, after claims about training had been abandoned. The judgment did not decide whether training in the UK is lawful.
The government's Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence, published in March 2026 as the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 required, dropped a broad commercial text and data mining exception with an opt-out as its preferred option and proposed removing special protection for wholly computer-generated works. Media lawyers in London are therefore advising rights holders to rely on contract, licensing and technical controls, and advising AI developers and users to document the provenance of training data and outputs. Our artificial intelligence team and our article on copyright and AI cover the detail.
Clearing and launching a project: step by step
- Secure the underlying rights. Option or acquire the book, format, life story, script or existing footage, with written assignments or licences that cover all the media, territories and terms you need.
- Engage talent and crew. Use agreements that assign copyright, obtain performers' consents and moral rights waivers, and reflect any applicable guild or union terms.
- Close the financing. Document commissions, pre-sales, gap and equity finance, completion guarantees and the recoupment waterfall, and confirm AVEC eligibility and BFI certification early.
- Clear the content. Clear music, archive, brands, locations and identifiable people, and obtain a pre-publication legal review for defamation, privacy and contempt risk on factual content.
- Insure and deliver. Obtain errors and omissions insurance and assemble the delivery schedule, including the chain of title documents, cue sheets and clearance logs.
- Distribute and comply. Agree distribution and platform deals, check Ofcom, Online Safety Act and advertising code requirements, and set up subscription, pricing and consumer terms that meet the DMCC Act.
- Monitor and enforce. Track revenue and audit rights, deal with complaints and takedown requests, and act quickly on piracy, infringement or defamatory coverage.
Documents and evidence to assemble
- Chain of title. Option and purchase agreements, writer and director agreements, assignments and licences, with copyright searches where needed.
- Talent paperwork. Performer consents, moral rights waivers, image and name permissions, and any union or guild terms.
- Music and archive clearances. Synchronisation and master licences, archive footage licences and cue sheets.
- Finance documents. Commission or distribution agreements, financing and interparty agreements, completion guarantee, collection account management agreement and tax credit certificates.
- Compliance records. Online safety risk assessments, age assurance records, advertising substantiation files and consumer terms and cancellation journeys.
- Publication records. Research notes, sources and right of reply correspondence for factual content, kept in a form that supports a public interest or truth defence.
Collect signed written assignments from every freelancer, writer and contractor before you pay them, not when a buyer asks. Without a signed written assignment, a contractor usually keeps the copyright and you have at best an implied licence, which rarely satisfies a distributor or insurer.
Risks and common mistakes
Gaps in the chain of title
The most common problem in production deals is not a dispute but missing paperwork. A script written before the company was formed, a contributor who never signed, or a licence limited to one territory can block a sale years later. Distributors and errors and omissions insurers will not proceed until the gap is fixed, and the person who holds the missing right then has leverage. Audit the chain of title at each financing stage and before any exit or catalogue sale, and fix gaps while relationships are still good.
Publishing without a legal review
Documentaries, true crime, investigative journalism and podcasts carry defamation, privacy and contempt risk. Serious harm is judged on actual impact, so the scale of modern online audiences can make a claim viable. A pre-publication review identifies meanings that cannot be defended, checks the evidence for truth or public interest defences, and makes sure a fair opportunity to respond was given. The limitation period for defamation is generally one year from publication, but privacy and data protection claims can run longer.
Assuming online platforms are outside regulation
Services that let users share content or interact, including fan apps, games with chat functions and creator platforms, may fall within the Online Safety Act whatever their size or location. Ofcom expects risk assessments to be carried out and kept up to date, and child safety duties can require effective age checks. Treating the Act as relevant only to large social media companies is a mistake. Scope the service carefully and document the decision even if you conclude the Act does not apply.
Subscription and ticketing practices
The CMA can now fine businesses directly for unfair commercial practices, including hidden fees, misleading urgency claims and difficult cancellation journeys. Streaming, membership and ticketing models are high on its agenda. The government also published its response on the resale of live event tickets in December 2025, setting out new rules to curb ticket touting. Review pricing presentation, renewal reminders and cancellation routes now, rather than after a complaint or investigation begins.
Unlabelled influencer and sponsored content
Creators and brands must make clear when content is advertising. The ASA expects clear labels such as "Ad" at the start of the post, and the CMA treats hidden advertising as a consumer law issue that can now attract direct fines. Contracts with creators should require compliance, give the brand approval rights and allocate responsibility for claims. Brands remain responsible for ads made on their behalf, so monitoring cannot be left to the creator alone.
Cross-border media: Bangladesh, the EU, the Gulf and Asia
Media lawyers in London increasingly work on projects that cross borders, whether through co-production, international sales, global streaming or diaspora audiences. The governing law of each contract, the territory and language of each licence, and the local regulation of distribution all need attention.
Bangladesh. Bangladesh has its own copyright, broadcasting and online content rules, and has updated its copyright legislation in recent years. Content made in London for Bangladeshi or British Bangladeshi audiences, and Bangladeshi content licensed into the UK, should be cleared under both legal systems. Payments of royalties and licence fees out of Bangladesh involve the foreign exchange framework administered by Bangladesh Bank, so licence terms should anticipate approvals and withholding. TRW & Co's head office in Dhaka works with our London team on these deals.
The EU. UK broadcasters no longer benefit from the EU country of origin principle, so services targeting EU audiences may need establishment and licensing in an EU member state. EU rules on audiovisual media, digital services and AI apply to services offered into the EU regardless of where the provider is based.
The Gulf, Singapore and China. These markets apply their own content standards, licensing and foreign ownership rules, and often expect local partners. Distribution and co-production agreements should allow for local censorship, edits and approvals without placing the producer in breach of its UK obligations.
How TRW & Co helps as media lawyers in London
TRW & Co is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. We advise producers, distributors, platforms, publishers, investors, talent and brands, and conduct litigation where disputes arise. Where advocacy in the higher courts is required, we instruct specialist counsel.
Production and rights
We draft and negotiate option, rights acquisition, talent, crew and co-production agreements, and audit chain of title before financing, sale or delivery.
Financing and tax credits
We document commissions, pre-sales, gap and equity finance and interparty arrangements, and work with accountants on AVEC eligibility and BFI certification.
Distribution and platforms
We negotiate licensing, distribution and platform agreements, and advise on Ofcom, Online Safety Act, consumer law and advertising requirements alongside our digital regulation team.
IP protection and enforcement
We protect formats, brands, music and content through copyright, trade marks and contracts with our intellectual property team, and act on infringement and piracy.
Pre-publication and reputation
We review factual content before release, respond to complaints and letters of claim, and act for claimants and publishers in defamation and privacy disputes.
Transactions and investment
We advise on acquisitions of studios, catalogues and media businesses, investment rounds and joint ventures, working with our mergers and acquisitions team on due diligence of rights.
Media lawyers London clients rely on should connect each of these workstreams, because a regulatory or rights issue in one usually affects value in another. You can also browse all of our practices.
Checklist for decision-makers
- Do we hold signed written assignments or licences for every element of the content, covering all media, territories and terms we need?
- Are performers' consents and moral rights waivers in place?
- Have we confirmed AVEC eligibility and BFI certification, and modelled the net value of the credit?
- Does our service fall within the Online Safety Act or the new Media Act regime, and is the analysis documented?
- Have our subscription, pricing and cancellation journeys been reviewed against the DMCC Act?
- Is factual content reviewed for defamation, privacy and contempt risk before release?
- Do our contracts address AI training, AI-generated material and data provenance?
- For cross-border deals, have we checked local content, ownership, tax and foreign exchange rules?
Media lawyers in London can help you prioritise these points before money is committed. To discuss a project or dispute, contact our London office.
Frequently asked questions
01Do I need a written contract to own copyright in work I commissioned?
Yes. Under English law the author, or the employer where the work is made by an employee in the course of employment, is usually the first owner of copyright. A freelancer, contractor or agency owns what it creates unless it signs a written assignment. Without one, you may have only an implied licence to use the work for the original purpose, which rarely satisfies a distributor, financier or insurer. Moral rights should also be waived in writing where needed.
02Which tax credit applies to UK film and TV production?
Film and high-end TV reliefs now operate as the Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit under Corporation Tax. HMRC guidance sets the rate at 34% for most films and programmes, 39% for children's TV and animation, and 53% for BFI-certified low-budget independent films with core costs under £23.5 million, on up to £15 million of core costs. The production must be certified as British and meet UK spend conditions, and the credit is taxable.
03Does the Online Safety Act apply to my platform if we are based outside the UK?
It can. The Act applies to user-to-user and search services with links to the UK, for example a significant number of UK users or the UK as a target market, regardless of where the provider is based. Fan communities, games with chat features and creator platforms can be in scope. Providers must carry out illegal content risk assessments and, where children are likely to use the service, meet child safety duties. Ofcom enforces the regime.
04What has the Media Act 2024 changed for streaming services?
The Media Act 2024 makes provision about the regulation of on-demand programme services, the prominence of public service content on television selection services, public service broadcasting and radio. Ofcom is implementing it in phases, including bringing larger on-demand services closer to broadcast-style content standards and new prominence rules for connected TV platforms. Streaming services should check whether they will be designated and from when, and prepare complaints handling and compliance processes accordingly.
05Can we use copyright material to train an AI model in the UK?
UK law currently has a text and data mining exception only for non-commercial research, so commercial training on protected works generally needs a licence or another legal basis. The Getty Images v Stability AI judgment did not decide whether training in the UK is lawful. The government's March 2026 report dropped a broad commercial exception with an opt-out as its preferred option. Rights holders should use licensing terms and technical controls, and AI users should keep provenance records.
06How quickly must a defamation claim be brought?
The limitation period for defamation in England and Wales is generally one year from publication, although the court has a discretion to extend it. Claimants must show the statement caused or is likely to cause serious harm to reputation, or serious financial loss for a company, judged on actual impact. Privacy, data protection and harassment claims have different time limits and can sometimes be more effective. Act quickly and preserve evidence of publication and its effects.
07Do influencers have to label sponsored posts?
Yes. Where a brand pays for or controls content, the ASA expects it to be obviously identifiable as advertising, usually with a clear label such as "Ad" at the start. Hidden advertising can also breach consumer law, which the CMA can now enforce directly with fines. Brands remain responsible for advertising made on their behalf, so creator contracts should require compliance, give approval rights and allow the brand to remove non-compliant content.
Sources and official materials
- Media Act 2024 — Public service broadcasting, on-demand and radio regulation
- Online Safety Act 2023 — Duties for user-to-user and search services, enforced by Ofcom
- Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 — Copyright, performers' rights and moral rights
- Defamation Act 2013 — Serious harm test and statutory defences
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — CMA consumer enforcement and subscription contracts regime
- HMRC: Claiming Audio-Visual Expenditure Credits — Film and TV expenditure credit rates and conditions
- Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence — Government report published March 2026
- Ofcom — Regulator for broadcasting, on-demand and online safety
General information only, current as at 21 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. It reflects the law of England and Wales unless stated otherwise; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems, and the law changes frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.