Event Summary

WALA’s Creative Entrepreneurs Series is a series for creatives of all kinds who want to take the

next step in their professional career by creating their own business. Explore the basics of

forming a business for your creative endeavors, from deciding whether to incorporate as a non-

profit or for-profit entity, to understanding copyrights and trademarks, to contract and

negotiation skills, and finally to taxes and understanding the grants process.

The series comprises of six sessions to be held on *consecutive Tuesdays, starting Tuesday,

March 1, 2022 and continuing through Tuesday, April 5, 2022 from 11am – 12:30pm.

*Attendees must Register for each individual session.

The complete series includes:

• Session #1: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 ~ Copyright/Trademark Protection & Use

(Select this date to attend this session)

Presentation and Q & A with:

John D. Mason

This session covers:

• Copyright Registration

• Fair Use

• Works Made For Hire

• Trademark

• Rights Management

• Creative Commons

• Licensing

• Protecting your creations

John D. Mason of Copyright Counselors, LLC is an art, entertainment and intellectual property

attorney, and literary agent. He is based in the Washington DC/Maryland area. His practice

focuses on copyright and trademark transactional matters, litigation, publishing and media

issues, contracts, and commercial matters. He works with writers, artists, filmmakers and people

and companies in creative industries to protect, promote and exploit their work. In addition to

his law practice, Mr. Mason is adjunct faculty teaching Entertainment Law at UDC Law School,

past adjunct teaching Art and the Law at George Mason University, Board President of

Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, and past Advisory Board member of the Art Directors

Club of Metropolitan Washington.

His email is jmason@copyrightcounselors.com and his firm website is

www.copyrightcounselors.com.

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• Session #2: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 ~ Business Entities Formation

(Select this date to attend this session)

Presentation and Q & A with:

Cynthia Gayton

This Session Covers:

• Overview of Business Entities

• Types and Organization

• Management and Control

• Liability Protection

• Tax-Related Issues

• Business Agreements

• Shareholder and Membership Agreements

• Employment and Independent Contractor Agreements

• Non-Disclosure Agreements

• Non-Profit Entities

• Types

• IRS Form 1023 for Tax-Exempt Status

• Common Mistakes for Entrepreneurs

Cynthia M. Gayton, Esq. holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from The

George Washington University and a Juris Doctor degree from George Mason University in

Arlington.

Cynthia is a member of both the State Bar of Virginia and the District of Columbia Bar. In

addition, Ms. Gayton is an adjunct professor of engineering law at The George Washington

University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She has been a volunteer attorney for

the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts since 1996. She worked as an associate at Morgan

Lewis & Bockius, concentrating in complex antitrust litigation. At the American Institute of

Architects, she was associate counsel.

Ms. Gayton is the author of Legal Aspects of Engineering, 8th Edition published by

Kendall/Hunt. Finally, she is the author of several articles published by VINE: The Journal of

Information Knowledge Management Systems, including: “Commercial satellite imagery: CI,

KM, and trade secret law,” Vol. 37, no.2, 2007; “Beyond Terrorism: Data Collection and

Responsibility for Privacy,” Vol. 36, no. 4, 2006; “Alexandria Burned – Securing Knowledge

Access in the Age of Google,” Vol. 36, no. 2, 2006; and “Legal issues for the knowledge

economy in the 21st Century, “Vol. 36, no. 1, 06.

Visit Gayton Law online at http://www.gayton-law.com/

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• Session #3: Tuesday, March 15, 2022 ~ Tax Strategies

(Select this date to attend this session)

Presentation and Q & A with:

Benjamin Grosz, Benjamin Takis, & Jonathan Holbrook

“Pursuing your art as a business can be daunting, and one of the biggest challenges is

understanding the tax laws. Between the many types of federal and state taxes that apply to

your business, it is easy to make a mistake that can set back your business for years.”

“Benjamin Takis, Benjamin Grosz, and Jonathan Holbrook, each having active experience in

the arts in addition to practicing as tax attorneys, will provide an overview of the federal

income tax, a guide to the different business structures you should consider, as well as more

advanced federal tax issues relevant to artists in the Washington, DC area.”

Benjamin Takis is the founding attorney of Takis Nonprofit Law PLLC, a law firm specializing

in tax, corporate governance, employment issues and business transactions for non-profit

organizations and social entrepreneurs. Since 2006, Ben has devoted his career to representing

non-profit organizations and tax-exempt entities. Ben honed his skills as an associate at the

premier Washington D.C. labor firm Bredhoff & Kaiser and the leading employee benefits

boutique Groom Law Group. At Bredhoff and Groom, Ben represented some of the largest

pension funds, health care trusts, and labor organizations in the country, along with public

charities, lobbying groups, trade associations, and other non-profit organizations of all types

and sizes. Visit Takis Nonprofit Law PLLC online at https://www.takisnonprofitlaw.com/

Benjamin Grosz is a partner with Ivins, Phillips & Barker, where he advises clients on a broad

range of federal income, estate and gift tax planning matters, as well as employee benefits issues.

Before law school, Ben started his own financial planning business. Prior to that he was a

business manager at Capital One Financial Corporation, where he developed strategy and

analysis for its credit card and banking businesses. His experiences in starting his own financial

planning business and developing business strategy for Capital One help him understand the

needs of clients ranging from entrepreneurs to large corporations. Although lacking the talent to

be a professional artist, Ben spent years singing with various choirs and has had the privilege to

sing at the Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap, and the good fortune to participate in a singing “tour

de France” with one of his college choirs.

Jonathan Holbrook is an associate with Ivins, Phillips & Barker. His practice focuses on

federal income taxation, as well as estate planning and employee benefits issues. As a student at

Harvard Law School, Jonathan co-founded HLS Effective Altruism, advised low-income

taxpayers through Harvard’s Federal Tax Clinic and was a winner of the 61st annual Williston

Negotiation Competition.

Visit Ivins, Phillips & Barker online at https://www.ipbtax.com/

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• Session #4: Tuesday, March 22, 2022 ~ Contracts & Licensing

(Select this date to attend this session)

Presentation and Q & A with:

Karl Means

This session covers:

When is a deal a deal?

- Offer

- Acceptance

- Consideration

What can you license?

- Ownership

- Contract considerations

- Royalties

What Happens If Someone Fails?

- Remedies

- Deadlines

- Indemnification

- Governing Law

- Limitations on Remedies

Karl W. Means advises clients on a range of intellectual property-related issues, including

working with clients on to protect and license copyrighted works covering a wide variety of

subjects, including publishing, music, computer software and web-based content. Karl also

counsels clients on the selection and protection of federally registered trademarks in the U.S.,

international trademarks, domain names and web-based advertising, and brand development. He

also has extensive experience with technology-based transactions involving the

commercialization of products and services, brand licensing, technology transfer, software

licensing and development agreements.

Before joining Miles & Stockbridge, Karl was a Shareholder in the Intellectual Property practice

at the firm of Shulman Rogers. Karl began his legal career with the U.S. Customs Service in

Washington, D.C., where he was Senior Attorney in the Intellectual Property Rights Branch.

Karl holds an M.B.A. from Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma.

Visit Miles & Stockbridge online at https://www.mslaw.com/karl-w-means

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* Session #5: Tuesday, March 29, 2022 ~ Negotiation Strategies

(Select this date to attend this session)

Presentation and Q & A with:

Marjorie Conner

Covered in this session:

“In business and in our personal lives, we are constantly needing to negotiate and collaborate

with other people – people whose interests differ from our own.

Success in our lives therefore can hinge on how well we engage in these necessary

interactions with others. This program offers attendees tips and tools for being a successful

negotiator and collaborator.”

Learn:

• the fundamentals of interest-based negotiations and avoiding the zero-sum game,

• the power of language in negotiations,

• what mediation is…and is not,

• when to consider facilitated negotiations,

• how to facilitate meetings and avoid breakdown and deadlock, and

• how to plan, prepare for, and participate in negotiations.

Marjorie Conner brings over 30 years’ experience in negotiation to this session. Marjorie has

negotiated resolution in deals, litigation, the breakup of partnerships and businesses, and even

disagreements among family members. Marjorie generally advocates an interest-based

approach, using the other party’s needs to accomplish her client’s goals. Marjorie served on the

WALA board from 2005 until 2012.

Visit MK Conner Law online at http://www.mkconnerlaw.com/mediation.html

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• Session #6: Tuesday, April 5, 2022 ~ Grants

(Select this date to attend this session)

Presentation and Q & A with:

Paul Marengo, Promethean Fundraising - CEO

Covered in this session:

(1) Are you ready for funding?

(2) What kind of questions will they ask me and What do I need to apply?

(3) What kinds of grants are there and where should I look for them?

(4) Once I get funded, what are the requirements and how do I manage my grant?

(5) Additional Resources

Paul Marengo is the CEO of Promethean Fundraising, a small boutique consulting firm that

helps grassroots organizations become more competitive fundraisers. Mr. Marengo has 25+

years in non-profit organizational development. In his career, Paul has been the Festival

Director for DC Film Alliance, the Asian Pacific American Film Festival as well as the

Volunteer Coordinator for DC Independent Film Festival, DC Underground Film Festival, Reel

Affirmations, and now FilmFestDC. Further adding to his resume, Paul has been the event

manager for organizations such as the Guerilla Film Festival and Reel Affirmations as well as a

Theater Manager for the Washington Jewish Film Festival. Lastly, Paul has been a film judge

for the NYC Independent Film Festival, The Washington West Film Festival, and Smart Philm

Festival.

Visit Promethean Fundraising online at https://prometheanfundraising.org

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The series is free for WALA members and *$20 per workshop for non-members.

*Reduced rate tickets available.

This WALA Creative Entrepreneur Series is supported by a special collaborative effort

with the DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment (OCTFME) and the

DC Creative Affairs Office. Complimentary tickets are available via these organizations.

#WALASPRING2022

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Event Details

• Date

  March 1, 2022

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• Time

  11:00am - 12:30pm

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• Partner

  DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment (OCTFME) and the DC Creative Affairs Office

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• Venue

  Online