What’s New: In Brief (March 28, 2008)

Neil Morrison of HKMB in Toronto has been appointed treasurer of the World Broker Networks’ (WBN, Ltd.) board of directors, according to AJC Consultants Ltd.
WBN, Ltd, a privately owned international insurance broker network, has sixty member companies in fifty-six countries, AJC Consultants Ltd notes on its Web site.

Perils facing filmmakers adapting a book into a film exist if they do not ensure that they have all the necessary rights needed, as disputes can arise over the terms of a licensing arrangement, warns Lloyd’s.
Currently, New Line Cinema the company behind the Lord of the Rings is facing a lawsuit over the alleged failure to pay out a percentage of profits to J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate.
If the Tolkien Trust is successful in seeking compensatory damages, it would have the power to block plans for the creation of further films based onto Tolkien works including the long-awaited The Hobbit.
“If book authors are successful in suing film makers, it could change the filming schedule already outlined by the producers,” Turul Brown, scheme director of Lloyd’s broker IMS film insurance, said in the release. “This could ultimately mean an interruption in pre-production and could lead to postponement or cancellation of locations and studios, re-booking crew and actors and depending on what agreements they had in place, possible claims being made due to the budget already being spent on these areas to secure these key personnel and sites.”
The cover that would typically protect against this is Film Producer’s Indemnity, he noted.
“The second problem for film companies is that if an early settlement cannot be reached between the parties, the legal wrangling could be extended,” he added.