Blockchain has been a big buzzword for 2018 and it’s been important in Polashuk’s practice as well. “Blockchain may transform distribution models and rights management and require entirely new strategies for deal-making,” she says. Polashuk’s work includes the licensing and distribution of television networks and programming content. She says that the ever-changing industry of television provides challenges. “The rapidly changing media landscape is driving broad changes,” she says. “This is pushing lawyers to develop creative legal approaches to implement business solutions.”
What have been the most important legal issues in communications for you in the past year?
The rapidly-changing media landscape is driving broad changes in the language we use to describe concepts that were once commonly understood — for example, what is a “television”? This is pushing lawyers to develop creative legal approaches to implement business solutions.
What new legal issues do you expect in 2018?
I think that we’ll need to better understand the legal implications for blockchain in the content industry — blockchain may transform distribution models and rights management, and require entirely new strategies for deal-making.
What is your golden rule for negotiating?
Don’t seek center stage — in content transactions, the attorney is a member of the supporting cast, not the star of the show.
