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Bryan Thompson
OVERVIEW

Bryan Thompson

Partner

Los Angeles

2029 Century Park East
Suite 300
Los Angeles, CA 90067

P 310-284-3782

F 310-284-3894

Bryan Thompson is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg's Los Angeles office.

OVERVIEW

Bryan Thompson is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg's Los Angeles office.

With a particular focus on television and digital matters, Bryan advises clients on transactional matters. More specifically, he counsels clients in a variety of corporate matters, including private placements, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and compliance, SEC compliance, strategic alliances and joint ventures, corporate financing, entity formations and capitalization, and licensing, including software and content licensing.

Bryan is member of the firm's Corporate Department and the Entertainment, Media and Sports Practice Group.

Bryan also has wide-ranging experience in traditional media, where he has represented clients with respect to television program development, production, licensing, and distribution, and also in digital media, where he has represented clients on similar matters. He also has counseled clients on technology licensing, peer-to-peer and direct-to-consumer transactions, privacy law, rights of publicity, fair use and related copyright matters, and international distribution.

Prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg, Bryan was senior vice president of business and legal affairs for Fox Networks Group, where he served as the head of business affairs for The Jackal Group, a subsidiary studio. Bryan also has previous in-house experience with Yahoo! Inc., where he was counsel for the sports, entertainment, video game, and marketing departments, and Whalerock Industries (previously known as BermanBraun), a digital media company where he served as general counsel. Bryan began his legal career with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, where he was counsel.

Bryan's varied legal career has afforded him the opportunity to approach legal matters from an array of perspectives. For instance, he has been involved in mergers and acquisitions and corporate financings as outside counsel, been in-house counsel for investors/buyers, and served as in-house counsel for targets. He has represented companies large and small, public and private in connection with significant matters.

Professional and Community Involvement

Board member, Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics

Board member, Los Angeles Team Mentoring

Honors

L.A. Times B2B Publishing's The Envelope Magazine Entertainment Business Visionaries, 2024

Variety Magazine Legal Impact Report, 2018-2021, 2023

Variety Magazine Dealmakers Impact Report, 2018-2023

Los Angeles Business Journal 2021 Leaders of Influence: Thriving in Their 40s

Experience
  • Representing studios in connection with virtually all phases of television, feature film, and digital content development, production, and distribution, including acquiring underlying rights (including book, graphic novel, and prior feature film rights); negotiating and drafting agreements with producers, writers, actors, and directors; and negotiating and drafting network licenses and international distribution agreements
  • Representing a web services provider in connection with various matters, including acquiring rights to livestream Major League Baseball games; supporting fantasy sports games and apps (including litigation with the NFL Players Association); negotiating with various entities concerning Olympics content; acquiring rights to distribute UFC pay-per-view events online; establishing an online PPV system; vetting investigative journalism, including award-winning pieces regarding collegiate athletics and NCAA compliance; negotiating licenses with news and data providers; and reviewing new sites, products, applications, and other initiatives
  • Handling production matters for various video productions, including scripted and unscripted programming (game shows, reality shows, etc.)
  • Representing a media company in negotiations with various celebrities, including Howard Stern and the Kardashian/Jenner family members, regarding the acquisition of digital media rights
  • Advising clients regarding marketing and promotional activities, including acquiring celebrity image rights, negotiating agency agreements, and vetting marketing campaigns and promotional items
  • Negotiating international co-production agreements concerning the off-shore production of content intended for primary distribution in the United States

*These matters occurred prior to joining Barnes & Thornburg.

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