Geoffrey Lee (JD '17) Published in GEMA Law Review

Alumnus Geoffrey Lee (JD '17) recently published an article in the Georgetown Entertainment & Media Alliance Law Review entitled "Go Fund Yourself: Navigating SEC Crowdfunding Regulations to Finance Feature Films."

The following excerpt can be accessed on https://gemalawreview.com/:

Film financing is an ever-changing enterprise; there is no single way of achieving fully funded status. This Comment will discuss a small sector of film finance through analyzing the existing SEC exemptions that remain pertinent to filmmakers as well as the recent passage of the Jumpstart Our Businesses Act of 2012 (JOBS Act) and the resulting changes in SEC securities regulation exemptions, including the implementation of what has become known as Regulation A+ and the Title III crowdfunding rules. While the SEC exemptions may provide a framework for producers to raise funds in exchange for offering equity interests in different projects, other well-tested means of financing are more efficient and allow producers to retain greater profit shares in the work.

Part II will explain the background and recent history of filmmakers utilizing crowdfunding platforms to finance their film, television, and new media projects. Part III will briefly examine two major forms of non-studio production financing that do not involve the SEC. Part IV will explain the current SEC rules and regulations, including Regulation D, Regulation A+, and Title III of the JOBS Act. Part V will analyze the current rules and regulations with the goal of manifesting the most efficient means of financing films through equity-based contributions, but will ultimately conclude that equity financing should only be utilized in narrow circumstances.

Geoffrey D. Lee, Go Fund Yourself: Navigating SEC Crowdfunding Regulations to Finance Feature Films, 1 GEO. ENT. & MED. ALL. L. REV. 39 (2017).