Entertainment law:London national wedding show - Essay Example

? Entertainment Law: London National Wedding Show Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Licensing Act 4Health and Safety Law 6 Company Law 7 Contract Law 9 Sale and Supply of Goods and Services 10 Intellectual Property Rights Law 12 Conclusion 13 List of References 15 Abstract Weddings, rallies, meetings and sports are some of the numerous events that the current society organizes. Thus event management is an emergent sphere of specification that a significant percentage of the population has explored. Knowledge of constituent aspects is important as it ensures the success of the respective events. London National Wedding Show is an event of great national importance. Through this, organizers are able to explore the social, economic and cultural aspects of the society. Of great importance however are the legal concerns that are both directly and indirectly affected by the event. This paper explores the legal aspects of events in light of the London National Wedding Show. The introduction gives the background information about event management. Moreover, it explores the importance of legal knowledge in execution of event organization and management duties and responsibilities. The body provides an in depth evaluation of six distinct laws that can affect the event in different ways. Besides explaining the content of the laws, this segment gives useful insights regarding the application of the law to the event as well as enforcement procedures. Finally, the conclusion provides a brief review of the research report. Introduction Events such as weddings, rallies and meetings need effective prior planning for them to be successful. This is particularly important if such events are big and are likely to have lasting implications on both the shareholders and stakeholders. The success of an event is depended on a host of factors that are social, economic, environmental, cultural and legal in nature. All these facets need to be mirrored in the planning process and addressed accordingly to attain desirable outcomes. Notably, they share intricate relationships and therefore failure to effectively address a single aspect can have lasting negative implications on the holistic wellbeing of the event. Just like professionals in other fields of specification, event organizers need to be conversant with the expectations of all spheres of the environment within which they organize the events. Since they are equipped with the relevant skills, knowledge and expertise, it is certain that they are able to address the foregoing concerns with ease. The London national wedding show is actually the biggest in the United Kingdom. It is considered the best consumer show that is attended by wedding experts from various backgrounds. It has various inspirational features that allow consumers from across the world to choose products that would make their wedding experiences exemplary. Undoubtedly, the ideas that this event present can truly make one to plan a perfect wedding. Most importantly, the shopping experience gives one a chance to have access to wide ranging products at a reasonable price. Statistical evidence indicates that the numbers of experts who attend the event are close to five hundred. Seemingly, organizers of this event are likely to put in great effort in a bid to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Besides time, financial resources that are likely to be invested in such an event are immense. Further, organizers can opt to employ various incentives to make the event livelier. Generally, the event is likely to be characterized by a host of activities whose implications are diverse. Apart from the managerial aspect, it is vitally important for event managers to be well versed with the legal aspects of such an event. In this respect, is worth noting that respective activities of the event have different legal implications. Unlike the managerial and organizational concerns that can be fixed accordingly, legal issues are relatively sensitive and can undermine the success of the entire event. Legal concerns that are related to a national wedding show are wide and varied. Of particular concern is the recognition that such an event is very important to both the organizer and the attendees. Therefore, legal issues have direct impacts to both the attendees and the organizers. For this reason, it is imperatively important for the organizers to ensure that relative issues are taken care of upfront. As it will come out from the review, these issues touch on matters pertaining to company law, contract law, health and safety, intellectual property law, licensing Act and sale and supply of goods and services amongst others. It is against this background that this paper provides an in depth review of entertainment law in light of the London National Wedding Show. Licensing Act The Licensing Act is a legal aspect whose provisions have direct effects to the National Wedding Show. Basically, this Act seeks to control and regulate the consumption of alcohol across the globe. In particular, its provisions oversee the supply of alcohol, enhancement of regulated entertainment and provision of late night refreshments. In their research, Kelly, Hayward, Hammer and Hendy (2001) indicate that the Act also seeks to protect the minors from the harm that is associated with consumption of alcohol, prevents incidences of public nuisance, enhances the general public safety and prevents occurrence of crime and any form of disorder. Notably, several stakeholders actively participate in implementing and enforcing this law. These include the Media and Sport department, The department of culture and the local authority that encompasses the Noise and Nuisance Team, the London Fire brigade and the Metropolitan Police (Smartt, 2011, p. 52). Other players are those that provide Children’s services and the Health and safety team. All these perform related activities and operations to ensure that alcohol consumption is prevented and moderated. The activities that are licensed include the sale of alcohol on behalf or by a particular club according to the agreement between the individual offering this service and the client, provision of moderated entertainment and late night refreshment. The London National Wedding show comprise of activities such as entertainment and providence of refreshments. According to Hewitson (2005, p. 63), the wedding organizers need to seek for a temporary licence to cover these activities. More activities of this event that would be covered by the license include performance of any type of live music, playing of any form of recorded music, performance of different types of dances and employment of any relative facilities. The licensing authorities that are responsible for evaluating the situation and giving licenses accordingly include the local authorities. These are given power to partake licensing actions by the Licensing Act of 2003. Apart from the Temporary Event Notice, the organizers would be required to obtain a Premise license. Essentially, this authorizes the use of particular premises for carrying out licensable activities that are stipulated by the law (Department of Culture, Media and Sport, 2005, p. 23) In light of the National Wedding Show, the provisions of these Acts affect the event in different ways. To begin with alcohol is a common feature of previous London National wedding shows and there would therefore be need to license for its consumption and use. From a cultural point of view, consumption of alcohol is considered typical of any form of entertainment. Then, wedding is a form of public entertainment that is characterized by music and dance as well as utilization of relative facilities (Hewitson, 2005, p. 64). To enhance smooth running, The London Wedding Show employs certain venues for hosting dignitaries and displaying their products. For the above reasons, it would be important for the event organizers to obtain relevant licenses accordingly. These would go a long way in preventing negative effects that stem from contravening the relative legal provisions. Health and Safety Law Also worth evaluating is the Health and Safety Law whose provisions have direct implications to this important national event. According to Kelly et al (2001, p. 52), this law underscores the responsibilities of employer to individuals who are not their employees, responsibilities of controllers of premises to other individuals, the duties of manufacturers and suppliers and the general duties that employees need to assume at the work place. One of the important duties pertains to the requirement to refrain from interfering and misusing things. The law directly affects health local authorities and safety executives and employers and employees. During the London National Wedding event, organizers are required by this law to take reasonable care for their personal health and safety as well as the health and safety of other individuals who may be affected in different ways by the activities of the organizers (Hewitson, 2005, p. 61). They are required to use the marketing and entertainment facilities correctly. At this point, it is worth appreciating that the equipment that they are likely to use would be hired from other service providers such as the broadcasters and caterers amongst others. The law also requires the organizers to provide a safe environment that is devoid of health hazards. Health hazards in this regard would be posed by the music that is played, the machinery employed in running various activities, the food eaten and the general environment or local within which the event is organized. It is important for the event organizers to ensure that the entire environment is safe and promotes the health of the individuals. Besides taking practical measures, this can be attained through supervisory acts as well as education and capacity building initiatives. Through these, The Health and Safety Executive (1999, p. 31) contends that vital information can be effectively relayed to the intended population. Practical measures in this respect would include effective planning and management of the event, appropriate site and venue design, provision of fire safety measures, major incident planning, establishment of reliable communication systems and procedures, management of transport, and waste management. Equally important would be consideration of aspects pertaining to sanitary facilities, erection of barriers and crowd control (Health and Safety Executive, 1999, p. 34). All the preceding requirements are provided for by the Public Entertainment Licensing Act of 1997. The enforcement of the health and safety legislation is done by the local authorities; environmental health officers from the Environmental Health Department and the health and safety commission (Health and Safety Executive, 1999, p. 32). Company Law Also worth exploring is the company law that offers useful information that would legally affect the national wedding event. Fundamentally, the company law recognizes that a corporation is a distinct institution that is separate from the individuals within it. Thus if registered accordingly, a company is allowed to venture into business and establishes relations, just like individuals. Company law is comprised of a host of legal processes that seek to define its wellbeing and general existence. The creation of this law was greatly influenced by the tendency of the company members to breach certain laws and further blame the company for the resultant negative effects (Hewitson, 2005, p. 81). Thus defining a company as a separate legal entity is instrumental in ensuring that individuals assume legal liability for their wrong doing. This led to the development of various types of companies to perform distinct business roles. The company law is all encompassing and its provisions are outlined in the partnership Act of 1890, Limited Partnerships Act of 1907, Limited Liability partnerships Act of 2000 and the Companies act of 2006 (Goldblatt, 2010, p. 61). The law recognizes that a company is made up of various stakeholders and shareholders that play definite roles within it. It also defines the roles of each person within the organization and underscores the influence that the respective individual has on company operations. Notably, major stakeholders such as directors influence decision making within the company. In particular, they play roles such as cancelling tenders, making payments, disqualifying applicants of different positions and so forth. In general, their decisions control the operations within the organization. In case a specific company underperforms or fails to honour its promises, such individuals would probably be directly affected by the relative negative implications. The London National Wedding event is attended by various companies including caterers, wedding gown designers, entertainment providers and consultants offering important information about beauty, gifts, photography, flowers, accessories, honeymoon destinations and so forth. Defining their legal status is therefore very important to ensure effective provision of the required services. According to Goldblatt (2010, p. 63), this is also useful in instilling a sense of responsibility amongst all the parties participating actively in the process. In other words, it ensures that parties assume responsibility for their duties and roles. Examples of companies that would perform various roles and responsibilities during this national event include those dealing with catering, security companies, and a host of entertainment companies. To ensure that they assume responsibility for their duties, their statuses need to be defined or ascertained form a legal perspective. In case of any shortcomings, event organizers would have a legal standing to launch complaints or sue the respective companies. Contract Law The provisions of the contract law also provide useful insights that guide the legal behaviour of the wedding organizers as well as the attendees. The contract law is a complex legal provision that comprises of important elements. These include offer, consideration, acceptance, intention to establish legal relations, terms that are clearly outlined, an intention to carry out the business and the need to communicate the offer to the intended offeree by the offer (Adams, 2010, p. 56). This law oversees all business oriented relations in the corporate sphere. For a contract to be considered valid, it needs to satisfy all the foregoing aspects. From a legal standpoint, the elements define the requirements as well as provisions of the law. Fundamentally, implementation of a contract has certain processes that need to be followed by all the affected parties. It begins with discussion of the intentions between the parties wishing to enter in the contract. This is exhaustive and seeks to review the expectations of both the parties. In essence, both the offerer and the offeree need to understand the needs of each other. This is useful in enabling them to determine whether they can fulfill the expectations and vice versa. This is followed by negotiation of terms and conditions and effect of the initial acceptance. Once all the terms and conditions are agreed upon by the affected parties, they proceed to signing of the contract (Bowdin, Allen, O’Toole, Harris and McDonell, 2010, p. 64). Notably, successful organization of the above event would include establishment of business relations by various shareholders. The major stakeholders in this important event include the clients, sponsors, entertainers, broadcasters, suppliers of important products and venue owners (Adams, 2010, p. 69). For instance, organizers would be required to sign a contract with the clients who are represented by the bride and groom. This would address aspects pertaining to the need to provide quality service. Then, the organizers would further sign contracts with other parties offering specific services such as entertainment, catering, broadcasting, security and so forth. Likewise, these would be aimed at ensuring that quality services are provided by all parties. Signing contracts also eliminates incidences of laxity amongst the service providers. As indicated earlier, it commits all the parties to providing quality service as well as products within the provided timeframe. Undoubtedly, various contracts are likely to be signed to ensure that relative activities and operations are provided for accordingly. The fact that quality aspects are also reflected implies that contracts would make the affected individuals to commit themselves to satisfying the needs of each other (Bowdin et al, 2010, p. 51). This would go a long way in accrediting the relative activities and ensuring that the wellbeing of all the individuals is catered for accordingly. The law of contracts was created by the British government and is enforced by the relative courts (Ramsburg, Miller, Breiten, Reed & Rushing, 2008, p. 42). Thus any person contravening this legal provision is liable to be convicted in a court of law. Knowledge of this legal provision by event managers is therefore of paramount importance. At this point, it cannot be disputed that the negative implications that stem from illegal tendencies are likely to compromise the success of this important national event. It is therefore vital for all parties to define and redefine their roles and responsibilities. Most importantly, they should ensure that the activities they partake satisfy the required legal expectations. Sale and Supply of Goods and Services The legal provisions pertaining to the sale and supply of goods and services are well defined within the consumer law. In particular, this sphere of specification addresses aspects pertaining to the goods and services that need to be sold or and supplied, the agreements to sell or supply the respective goods and services, the price of the respective products and the contracts that are established by the relative parties (Adams, 2010, p. 83). According to this law, the duties of the seller include delivering and supplying products that are consistent with the terms that are outlined in the contract. The buyer on the other hand is responsible for accepting the delivery of the respective goods and paying for them accordingly. The buyer has every right to reject the products if they do not meet the quality or standards that are outlined in the contract. Moreover, s/he has a right to request for a specific standard of performance by the seller, the seller’s remedies and to stop any goods that are on contract. The goods and services are deemed to be of high quality if they correspond with the sample that was initially provided by the buyer. The seller therefore has the responsibility of ensuring that products delivered or supplied are sufficient and of acceptable quality. In the national wedding show event, there are a host of operations and business activities that are characterized by buying and selling. In this respect, Ramsburg (2008, p. 46) contends that virtually all products that would be employed during the National Wedding event would be bought from various suppliers and manufacturers. Besides products, various services would be required to contribute to the success of the event. In particular, services relating to catering, sanitation and entertainment would be vital in enhancing the success of this event. Likewise, these would be sourced from diverse backgrounds especially considering the fact that they are innumerable and required at distinctive times. The London National event attracts consumers and wedding experts from across the globe. While suppliers and sellers seek to showcase their products, consumers buy the particular products for their own consumption. Thus apart from event organizers, the sellers or suppliers of the required products and consumers need to be conversant with the provisions of the consumer law. To avoid complications that undermine effective functioning, they need to understand and uphold the responsibilities that are provided by this legal provision. This law was created by the British government and is enforced by the law courts (Bowdin et al., 2010, p. 71). Thus contravention of the above mentioned legal provisions makes one liable to conviction and legal punishment. It is for this reason that all stakeholders need to understand the roles that they play. This enables them to play the respective roles accordingly and avoid any legal implications whose effects could be far reaching. Intellectual Property Rights Law Basically, intellectual property law seeks to protect the creative arts of individuals. It recognizes the efforts that are undertaken by the respective persons in creating the pieces of work (Hewitson, 2005, p. 42). Usually, such work is original and belongs to the producer even after publication. From a consumer’s standpoint, the main aim of this law is to ensure that the consumer benefits optimally from the rewards that are likely to stem from the particular product. It is an all inclusive law that addresses issues pertaining to copyrights, patents, designs and trademarks. The entrepreneurs in this respect have a chance to reap optimal desirable results from their pieces of work. Certainly, this facet of the law is directly related to the national wedding show in different ways. According to Adams (2010, p. 40), wedding products under show case require the creation of verbal marks indicating names of people as well as products. Examples of products in this regard include wedding invitation cards, rings, program of events during the material day, statements of marriage vows to be made by the bride and groom and so forth. If these are taken from any particular source, respective sources need to be acknowledged accordingly. Failure to acknowledge them would amount to infringement on the Intellectual Property Rights of the particular source. Furthermore, other product providers produce non verbal marks that consist of emblems, symbols, numbers or pictorial representations comprising of all these. These mainly comprise of graphical and pictorial representations that characterize wedding materials. The Intellectual Property Rights law requires that the aforementioned products be sufficiently distinctive. In addition, they need to be in line with the moral expectations of the society. Most importantly, the marks need not be too similar or too identical (Verow, Kanaar, Overs & Scheurer, 2007, p. 42). In essence, all the products presented in the wedding show need to be original to avoid contravening the Intellectual property Rights Law. Relative provisions are provided for in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988 and Trademarks act of 1994 (Verow et al, 2007, p. 43). These provide a detailed explanation of what is required of the producer, manufacturers and several other stakeholders in the industry. The rules therein underscore the various offences related to the respective law as well as the penalties. The law is enforced by the courts and other factions of the criminal justice system. For example, conviction for the offence of infringing upon copyrights is punishable by imprisonment for a period of up to ten years or payment of a fine of up to 5000 pounds. In this consideration, it is certain that contravention of the Intellectual Property Rights can have immense implications on the organizers and the attendees. Timely measures therefore need to be undertaken to ensure that all designs and information employed during this wedding is credible. Apart from having relative products custom made by designers, the organizers can employ those that are already available in the market. However, sources in this respect need to be acknowledged accordingly. Conclusion In sum, event organizers and planners are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that events run smoothly and end up successfully. To attain this goal, they are equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills and expertise pertaining to event organization and management. An event of national importance such as a national wedding show requires effective planning to meet its goals and objectives. Besides the social, economic and cultural aspects that characterize the event, the legal concerns are equally important. Thus the event managers need to be well versed with the legal knowledge regarding the organization and execution of this important event. As it has come out from the study, legal aspects that are related to Licensing Act, Consumer Law, Intellectual Property Law, Health and Safety, Contract Law and Company Law are directly related to this event. Most laws are established by the government and seek to ensure that relationships, activities and behaviours are within the required legal confines. As earlier indicated, this generally goes a long way in keeping conflicts at bay. Furthermore, the laws ensure that the affected parties assume a high degree of responsibility and provide products whose value is reflective of the price that is paid. Also worth appreciating is the recognition that contravention of the above mentioned laws has lasting detrimental effects to both the shareholders and stakeholders. For this reason, it is vitally important for all parties involved in the event to be conversant with their wide ranging roles and responsibilities. List of References Adams, A 2010, Law for Business Students. Sixth edition. Harlow, Essex, Pearson Education. Bowdin, G., Allen, J., O'Toole, W., Harris, R., and McDonnell, I 2010, Events Management, 3rd edn, Oxford, Butterworth-Heinemann. Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2005, Jargon Buster – Licensing Act 2003, London, Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Goldblatt, J 2010, Twenty first century global event management. USA, Wiley Health and Safety Executive 1999, Health and Safety Law: What you should know, London, Health and Safety Executive. Kelly, D, Hayward, R., Hammer, R. and Hendy, J 2011, Business Law, Sixth edition. Abingdon, Oxfordshir, Routledge Hewitson, R, 2005, Licensing Law Handbook, A Practical Guide to Liquor and Entertainment Licensing, London, The Law Society. Ramsborg, G., Miller, D., Breiter, B., Reed, J & Rushing A 2008, Professional meeting management; Comprehensive strategies for meetings, conventions and events, USA: Hunt Publishing Smartt, U 2011, Media and Entertainment Law, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Routledge. Verow, R., Kanaar, N, Overs, E. and Scheurer, V 2007, Entertainment Law Handbook. London, The Law Society. Word Count: 3752 Read More