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VLA Quote of the Day
"If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." -Bruce Leevia Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, VLA's Associate Director
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Greetings!
VLA would like to bid adieu to our blessedly mild winter with a shower of thanks to a number of friends who made the transition out of the cold last month even more pleasant:
- Thanks to Yale Law School for hosting VLA Associate Director, Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, Esq., on March 21st for his talk, Copyright, Appropriation, and the Death of Creativity.
- Thanks to the SculptureCenter for inviting Sergio to co-moderate its panel on Translating Spaces: Translating Law!
- Thanks to Union Docs for inviting Elena to participate in its panel on How to Get Your Documentary Off the Ground!
VLA's highlights of the new season include: Elena's appearance in a Fast Company Co.Design article discussing the implications of Facebook's flexing of its alleged trademark rights to shut down a satirical art project; continuing events in the Independent Curators' International's Conversations Series, which are made possible by the work of Art & Law Residency participant -- and ICI Deputy Director -- Renaud Proch; and the chance to reserve your tickets to VLA's incomparable Summer Benefit, which is being held on June 14 from 6-8PM at the TRESPA Design Centre. Also, don't miss the CLE panel conversation Right to Remix: Appropriation Art in the Digital Age, with Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento, Esq., on Monday, April 9, 4pm at the New York Law School 2nd Floor Event Center.
Best,
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VLA's new featured article of the week!
The Four Ps of For Profits: Some Thoughts About Starting Your Own Business
 Partnerships- who will own and help run the business? What type of business structure will you create? Options include sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, C-corporation, S-corporation and limited liability company. Each has its own legal advantages and disadvantages that may affect the type of business you want to run.
Plan- Come up with a business plan. This plan will help you focus internally on where you want your company to go and what you want your company to do. It is also the first document that any potential investor or future partner will want to look at. Don't worry! A business plan is a living breathing document that can be and should be revised through the life of your company. Protect- Know what your company's assets are, and how to secure ownership and protect them. Your assets are not only the capital you and other investors put into the company, but also your intellectual property. These include trademarks on logos, copyrights on materials, designs and work product, patents on innovative designs or inventions and trade secrets on your company's method of doing business and client lists. All of these assets are equally and sometimes even more valuable than the money invested. People- Beyond business partners, who will help you run the business and get the work of your business done? Hiring managers, accountants and employees all have an impact on your business. These choices have legal and business consequences for your business and many federal state and local laws apply to the way you treat employees, interns and even volunteers.
Thanks to Josh Blechner for this food for thought.
Looking for more information about forming your for-profit business? Visit AskTheLawyer.info or take our workshop on Thursday, April 12, 2012! Register now!
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This month, VLA's Director of Legal Services, Benjamin J. Brandow, Esq., shares his current essentials, from color and films to art picks and books. Check out his favorites!
Color: Blue, of course! The most royal color, in my opinion. Deep blues preferred.
Hour of the day: Midnight (or later). I'm definitely a night owl but am gradually becoming more of a morning person.
Perfume/cologne: Bulgari pour homme.
Film: Breaking Upwards; Sideways; Wedding Crashers (sadly, perhaps)
Food: All of it. Maybe I will post my Top 20 list of NYC restaurants or my Top 20 list of best dishes in NYC. Some favorites include Aquagrill's rare tuna sandwich, Minetta Tavern's black label burger, Lure's lobster roll, Waverly Inn's chicken pot pie, Katz's pastrami on rye, Capsouto Freres' soufflés, Bubby's pies, and Clinton Street Baking Co.'s blueberry pancakes. But I'm a cheesesteak guy at heart (a REAL one from Philly - where I'm from originally, just north of the city).
Corner of NYC: Prince and Sullivan (two blocks from my apartment)
Flower/plant/animal: Dogs, polar bears, and turtles. My wife loves roses. (How unique of her! Just kidding. She just has good taste.)
Actress/actor: Rachel McAdams, Jack Nicholson. Least favorite: Mel Gibson.
Musician/Band: Dave Matthews Band (the main subject of the honors thesis I wrote about the music industry during my senior year at Northwestern)
Book: Freud's Die Traumdeutung (The Interpretation of Dreams), The Sound and the Fury, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby
Artwork: Monet (esp. Impression Sunrise), Seurat (all just amazing), Pissaro
Landscapes/places: Paris, Seville, Chicago, Aspen
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Feeling Lucky?
VLA Summer Benefit Trivia 2012
Each week VLA will tweet a trivia question for a chance to win a VLA Summer Benefit 2012 ticket! How do you win? Watch VLA's Twitter feed for the quiz, and send your answers to Luis Nieto Dickens at lndickens@vlany.org. Each question correctly answered will get you one chance to win, the more you answer, the luckier you get!
See the first question here!
Questions will also be up for one week on the VLA News page of our website.
Access it here: http://www.vlany.org/aboutus/vla_news.php
Winners will be announced May 30th at noon!
GOOD LUCK!
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Don't miss this great free class series from VLA:
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Three Free Classes: Contracts, Nonprofits, For-profit Arts Businesses If you've ever wanted to learn a bit about oral and written agreements, legal language, about starting an arts nonprofit and how it differs from a for-profit company, or perhaps are thinking about starting an LLC (limited liability company), this series is for you. You can attend one, two, or all three 1.5hr-long classes for FREE. Why are we doing this? As part of VLA's Educational Programming and clinical program with Columbia Law School, VLA's Associate Director Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento has been overseeing Columbia Law students and helping them prepare to teach contracts, nonprofits, business structures, and intellectual property. The Columbia Law students are now eager to share their knowledge and information with VLA friends, members, and the local community.
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Learn about contracts, nonprofits, and for-profit arts businesses. ................................................................... Under the supervision of Sergio Muñoz Sarmiento and Ben Brandow, VLA's Director of Legal Services, the Columbia Law students will teach each course and take questions concerning their respective topics. Don't miss this informative and fun event. Please view the schedule below for dates and times for each class topic.
Times and Schedules:
Wednesday, April 4: 5 - 6:30pm Contracts 6:30 - 8pm Nonprofit Arts Organizations Friday, April 13: 5 - 6:30pm For-profit businesses Where: VLA Auditorium 1 East 53rd Street NY, NY 10022 These three 1 1/2 hour classes are free and open to the public.
Please include the date(s) and time(s) you would like to attend in the subject of the e-mail.
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About VLA
Donate to VLA
VLA has seen an increase in demand for pro bono legal services, in-house consultations, legal clinics, and educational programming, and we expect 2013 to be even more demanding.
Would you like to support more VLA legal services and educational programming?
In 2012, your support will make possible:
- More legal services to low-income artists
- More legal services to arts nonprofit organizations
- More educational programming
- More scholarship programs
- Maintaining lower fees for legal services and educational programming
- More discounts on legal books for artists
Donations of any size will have a positive impact on our ability to provide vital services for artists and the arts community. $5, $10, $25, or $75 will help.
Library and Bookstore
VLA has a small but in-depth book library containing a wealth of materials and resources for artists, arts organizations, and legal professionals. Our books and materials cover diverse areas such as nonprofits, fiscal sponsorships, visual art, music, theater, dance, writing, film, internet, and digital media, all in relation to intellectual property, contracts, licensing, legal entities, free speech, employment law, and grant writing. Access to VLA's library is free and is open to the public Monday through Friday, 12 to 6pm.
Along with providing individuals and organizations with access to the VLA's Library, VLA makes available a wide variety of books for all arts disciplines and organizations. For a list of our publications and books available for sale, please visit our list. For book prices and shipping fees, please contact VLA at our Art Law Line at 212.319.2787, x1.
About VLA
Since 1969, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts has been the leading provider of pro bono legal services and mediation, as well as educational programs, publications, and advocacy to the arts community in the New York area and beyond. As the first arts-related legal aid organization, VLA is the model for similar organizations around the world.
Our Supporters
VLA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal service organization supported in part with public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and through generous gifts from corporations, foundations and individuals. View a full list of foundation and government supporters here; to view a full list of law firm and corporate supporters, click here.
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts 1 East 53 Street, Sixth Floor | New York, NY 10022 P: 212.319.2787 | F: 212.752.6575 http://vlany.org http://askthelawyer.info |
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 VLAJune 14, 6 - 8pm
TRESPA Design Centre
62 Greene Street
New York
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WE
LOVE OUR
SPONSORS!
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A friendly message from VLA!
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