The Atlanta Lawyer November 2016 | Page 18

FEATURE ARTICLE Giving Back to Georgia Artists sistance to inventors through “Georgia PATENTS,” a program backed by the USPTO to Matthew Goings assist solo and small group inGeorgia Lawyers for the Arts [email protected] ventors apply for patents. GLA is constantly working toward facilitating communication Show of hands, who enjoys listenand understanding between the arts ing to music? What about watching movies, or even short YouTube vid- and legal communities, and here is eos? Do you like to study, or simply how you can help us achieve this admire, a piece of art in your office, goal while giving back to the arts home, or gallery? Then you are a community. consumer of the arts. We greatly benefit from these artists, so what can we, as legal professionals, do to give back to this community? A good place to start is Georgia Lawyers for the Arts. For those that do not know what Georgia Lawyers for the Arts (“GLA”) is and what we do, GLA is a non-profit organization that exists Donate some of your work time to providing pro bono work to artists by volunteering with GLA. Whether your area of expertise is in entertainment, intellectual property, or another area of law wholly unrelated to entertainment, you have valuable skills and can provide great benefit to these artists. GLA has need of attorneys in all areas of to serve the legal needs of artists and arts organizations. Our main means of assisting artists is by finding pro bono attorneys to represent those that would normally be unable to afford an attorney. We also provide educational opportunities to artists about their legal rights and responsibilities. GLA also offers as- the law. We have had clients come in with all sorts of needs; just this year GLA has assisted clients with cases concerning estate planning, resolving a late artist’s will, corporate formation, commercial lease agreements, or even negotiating a construction contract in addition to entertainment-related issues. 18 November 2016 Support GLA with donations. As trite as asking for money is, it keeps GLA’s doors open and allows us to continue to provide assistance to artists in need. Tickets are available to our upcoming Annual Gala on Thursday, December 8. We will auction artwork donated by Georgia artists. Come present a seminar at GLA. We offer free, educational seminars to anyone who wants to attend and learn. These seminars cover a wide range of topics. Some of our recent seminars have covered such topics as fair use, revenue streams for musicians, general patents, and contract basics. The more informed these artists are about what legal rights surround their profession, the better. Come to GLA events. We have several large events throughout the year, as well as smaller, more frequent events, that attract both artists and legal professionals. These are great times for artists and attorneys to just meet and get to know one another. This helps facilitate that communication and understanding between industries. One of these events is our new Art Nights. On these nights, we feature one or two artists’ works at GLA. Attendees can look at the art, meet the artists, and have some wine. You may even see some work you want to purchase (I did). Georgia Lawyers for the Arts sincerely hopes you all consider giving back to the arts community that gives us so much entertainment. Check out www.glarts.org and www. gapatents.org to learn more and become a member. ▪