Q&A with FKKS

Excited to introduce one more top-tier partner of the Summit 2023 –? Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz ! We connected with????? Sean F. Kane ?and ????? S. Gregory Boyd ?in their New York City office to learn more about what makes their legal team unique:

?? Gentlemen, how would you define your core expertise in the industry?

– You can say that we "help make game creation happen” – whether this is licensing famous IP from a Hollywood studio, or negotiating development or publishing transactions. We do the bulk of what we call the “day-to-day” business – advising clients on the legal and regulatory approaches to various matters that come up while running a games business.??

Additionally, clients also come to us for more esoteric questions that may never have been asked before, which is when we really get to put on our thinking caps.?Given that our team has more than 50 years of combined games experience, we infuse our legal advice with a lot of industry knowledge. Our goal is always to try to avoid telling a client “No”, but instead to work with them to get to an acceptable “Yes”.?

?? Does this include more specialised areas such as, for example, litigation?

– Yes, absolutely! At any given time, we're representing various clients in video game litigation and/or arbitration. Additionally, Frankfurt Kurnit has nationally recognized practices in advertising, privacy, corporate/M&A, entertainment… whatever issues affect the global games industry and the US market.

?? How big is the firm, and where are your offices?

– We’re probably the largest media and entertainment law firm in the US, with 115 lawyers, and we operate out of offices in ???? New York City and ???? Los Angeles.

Some areas of expertise exist in both locations while other areas are concentrated in a specific office; for example, we have a wonderful LA partner who’s an expert in audits and litigation and has experience with basically every large film studio and IP licensor.?

More generally, attorneys in both NYC and LA have significant video game expertise, plus we work seamlessly with various colleagues with film, media business and advertising expertise. In that sense, if you’re doing a cross-media deal, we’re very well positioned to help you understand “what’s the norms” in each of these industries.

?? Who are your clients, mostly?

– We have 200+ video game clients that range from small game developers to the largest global game publishers, middleware providers and esports brands.??Basically, if you are in the US video game ecosystem, we probably work with you – or with your competitors.??

?? Are your clients mostly US-based?

– We think of our clients as “global by the revenue”, meaning that they make money all over the world, and their outlook is not really that of a regional company (even if headquartered in the US).?We represent clients located in the US generally, and many international companies on their US-specific issues.?

?? What countries does your work intersect with the most, outside of the US – whether it’s with other law firms, or with games studios?

–?We would say ???? Canada, ???? Germany, ???? UK, ???? France, and ???? Poland, followed by ???? Japan, ???? South Korea, and ???? China.

?? Typically, large firms would set up a “games industry group” internally, that would capture all the relevant experience. Do you have a similar group at FKKS?

– Yes, it was originally called TSGS (“The Sean & Greg Show”) – but as we have grown to add so many amazing colleagues, we now respond to “The Interactive Entertainment Team”. On as serious note, we have one of the largest dedicated games teams of any firm, with two co-chairs leading 6 other attorneys and counsel who are 100% focused on interactive entertainment matters.

?? For how long do you two practice in the field?

– Sean F. Kane has practiced for 25 years; he spent the first few years in IP litigation before devoting his full time to video games about 20 years ago. S. Gregory Boyd has also practiced in video games for about 20 years.

?? And how long have you two worked together?

– We used to be hardcore competitors while practicing at different NYC firms (though still civil enough to go out to lunch and even take a Napa wine trip with our spouses), but we decided to join forces and found Frankfurt Kurnit’s video game practice about 10 years ago. We had good-naturedly joked that one of us would inevitably end up working for the other. While Greg may have technically joined Frankfurt Kurnit first, to this day Sean admits nothing.??

?? Tell us something that would help identify you even without a name, in the industry?

– One of us is the founding member of the Psychedelic Bar Association , having obtained a medical degree at the same time as his JD. And the same person (whose first name starts with a “G”) is currently training to be a psychotherapist, as an off-hours hobby. So, if, for example, you’re a developer struggling to accept the publisher’s proposal, you can get help from us in two ways: we’ll suggest how to amend the deal, and we’ll explain to your publisher why you deserve it!?

The other of us is the current president of the Video Game Bar Association and spends most of his free time restoring antique cars, but has also been known to do a mean karaoke rendition of “Ring of Fire” at one of the finer Vilnius venues!