Profile
David Koehser represents and advises individuals and businesses on publishing, licensing, copyright, trademark and general business law matters. His clients include publishers, writers, artists, designers, agents and producers. He also works with business consultants and consulting firms, software developers and other retail and service businesses.
He is a past chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Art & Entertainment Law Section, and the Hennepin County Bar Association Corporate & Business Law Section. He regularly speaks at continuing legal education programs and industry trade group meetings, and has taught publishing law seminars at the University of Minnesota Law School and Hamline University Law School in the Twin Cities, and the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago. He publishes a quarterly newsletter entitled Copyright and Publishing Law Update, and he writes a monthly column for CLIPS, the Chicago Women in Publishing newsletter.
Areas of Practice
Copyright, Publishing, Licensing and Entertainment Law
- Publishing Agreements
- Joint Author Collaboration Agreements
- Illustrator Agreements
- Subsidiary Rights License Agreements
- Permissions and Releases
- Merchandise, Character, Trademark and Design License Agreements
- Agent Agreements
- Copyright and Trademark Registrations
- Theater Production Agreements
- Music Licensing
- Talent and Modeling Agreements
- Video Production Agreements
- Software Development and License Agreements
Business Law
- New Business Formations
- Purchases and Sales of Existing Businesses
- Consulting Agreements
- Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreements
- Employment Agreements
- Distribution Agreements
- Project/Joint Venture Agreements
- Shareholder Buy-Sell Agreements
- Loan Agreements
- Commercial and Office Leases
Education
University of Minnesota Law School
J.D. cum laude 1981
University of Iowa
B.A. 1977
Phi Beta Kappa
Bar Admissions
Minnesota 1981
Illinois 1982
Professional Memberships
Minnesota State Bar Association
- Business Law Section
- Art and Entertainment Law Section
- (Chair, 1998-1999; Newsletter Editor, 1994-1998)
Hennepin County Bar Association
- Corporate, Business and Franchise Law Section
- (Chair, 1998-1999; Executive Committee, 1997-1998)
Presentations and Classes
- The World of Book Publishing
(Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Entertainment Law Seminar - May, 2002) - Contracts from Three Points of View
(Minnesota Book Publishers Roundtable - March, 2002) - Electronic Issues in the Entertainment World
(Hennepin County Bar Association E Commerce Law Seminar - September, 2001) - Issues In Publishing Law
(John Marshall School of Law Publishing Law Seminar - July, 2001) - The Many Faces of Merchandise Licensing
(Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Entertainment Law Seminar - May, 2001) - The Law of Book Building
(Minnesota Book Builders - January, 2001) - Joint Works and Collaborations
(Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Entertainment Law Seminar - May, 2000) - Publishing Law
(University of Minnesota Law School Entertainment Law Seminar - March, 2000; February, 2001) - The Rules for Using the Material of Others
(Midwest Independent Publishers Association - February, 2000) - Publishing on the Electronic Frontier - Rights, Royalties, and Agreements
(Minnesota Book Publishers' Roundtable - January, 2000) - Copyright Law for Television and Video Producers
(Twin Cities International Television Association - October, 1999; March, 2000), - Entertainment Law: The Story Behind The Story (Seminar Chair)
(Minnesota Continuing Legal Education Entertainment Law Seminar - April, 1999) - New Developments in Publishing
(Minnesota Book Publishers' Roundtable - January, 1999) - Copyright Law for Graphic Designers
(College of Visual Arts - February, 1997; April, 1998; April, 1999) - Acquiring and Licensing Rights in the Publishing World
(Midwest Independent Publishers' Association - November, 1998) - Merchandise Licensing for Fun and Profit
(Minnesota Continuing Legal Education - May, 1998) - Publishing Law
(Hamline University School of Law Entertainment Law Class - April, 1998; April, 2001) - Avoiding Risk for Publishers
(Minnesota Book Publishers' Roundtable - January, 1998) - The Ten Questions Most Frequently Asked By Publishers
(Midwest Independent Publishers' Association - November, 1997) - Copyright Law and Business Communication
(Twin Cities International Association of Business Communicators - February, 1997) - Copyrights and Contracts for Writers
(Hamline University Master of Fine Arts Program - November, 1996)
