Bowl season is about to begin and with it comes bowl
parties. Whether throwing a small house party or planning an event on a larger
scale, there are things to consider. While event planning may appear to be all
fun and games to many people, professional event planners realize the dangers
of the games. There are many potential liabilities to consider when planning an
event. One possible liability was demonstrated by an Atlanta event planner last
year. In December of 2010, Terry Singleton received a letter from the Academy, but it wasn’t for
her nomination. This letter was to inform her of her infringement of copyright.
An event she had hosted around Oscar time utilized 7-foot gold statues,
similar to those given out at the Academy Awards but not identical. She did not
see a problem because the statue had no facial features and looked “
more like a gold alien” but the Academy had a different idea and was looking to sue. Due to
the Academy’s prestige and wealth, the planner decided to comply and came to an
undisclosed settlement. While this may seem like a freak occurrence, incidents
like this are an expensive liability that could easily be avoided. Be careful
not to include any copyrighted material into decorations and if a client is
dead set on having something copyrighted, tell the client he/she will have to
pay to have the rights to use that copyrighted material. The client may change
his/her mind.
