California
Oregon
United States District Court, District of Oregon
University of Oregon School of Law (J.D.,
Art Center College of Design (B.F.A.,
Formerly an art director on television commercials, Dane brings invaluable creative perspective to the business and legal affairs issues affecting independent filmmakers.
Dane Johnson represents screenwriters, production companies, producers, directors, and talent creating indie film, television, and digital content. He structures agreements across media production stages, from acquiring content rights, to optioning and shopping original screenplays, to documenting above- and below-the-line employment relationships, location agreements, and other production legal, to distribution deals.
Along with guiding independent producers through the day-to-day production matters relating to the creation of film and television projects, Dane’s practice involves business organizations and entertainment financing transactions. He advises on compliance with the federal and state (“Blue Sky”) securities laws that apply to financing independent films through equity investors.
Before founding DeepFocus Entertainment Law, Dane represented visual artists, authors, composers, musicians, and entrepreneurs in creative legal and business transactional matters. He also gained deep experience as a litigator, including in the defense of alleged copyright infringement claims, and as a civil trial attorney in state and federal courts.
Insights
DeepFocus Entertainment Law Blog
Publications
“Statute of Anne-Imals: Should Copyright Protect Sentient Non-Human Creators?”,
“Cages, Clinics, and Consequences: The Chilling Problems of Controlling Special-Interest Extremism”, Oregon Law Review
Awards
Selected to