What happens when a kid who grew up in 90s skate, hip hop, and punk culture becomes a talent agent for celebrities and musicians, spends a decade as a litigator and in-house counsel for a celebrity agency, and then quietly builds a law firm that has become the go-to for management companies and creators trying to navigate the wildest legal terrain in modern business — the creator economy? In this episode of the Trustcast Show, Zane Myers speaks with Frank Poe, founder of Poe Law, about the single most dangerous clause hiding at the bottom of almost every brand contract — choice of law filed in Delaware, a state that barely recognizes the right of publicity that sits at the heart of every creator deal. Frank explains the REV Model he developed for evaluating any brand agreement — Rights, Expectations, Value, and Visibility — and why a brand that refuses to negotiate even one red line on a $2,500 deal is actually rejecting their own argument about limiting liability. He also explains why perpetual usage rights are an existential threat to a creator's entire channel, what natural exclusivity is and why it happens whether or not it's written into the contract, and why brands who insist on owning content forever are handing themselves a car while Frank keeps the keys. They also discuss the agency that funneled brand payments through the owner's personal bank account and then filed for personal bankruptcy — and the bankruptcy trustee who came after Frank's client for money that was never legally the agent's to keep, how Frank sued a brand in the state where their fulfillment center was located and leveraged their inventory as the collection target, why morality clauses get triggered not by scandals but by crowd surfing at concerts, the distinction between traditional entertainment law where the producer owns everything and creator law where the creator is the director and producer and distributor, and why equity deals are the one area where creators are getting genuinely dangerous advice on TikTok right now. Frank Poe is the founder of Poe Law PLLC, a creator economy law firm serving management companies, talent agencies, and creators across brand deals, influencer contracts, and right of publicity disputes. Connect with Frank Poe: LinkedIn: Frank Poe Poe Law PLLC Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Frank Poe 00:43 The wildest contract clause Frank has ever reviewed — and the call with eight attorneys on the other side 01:38 How brand deals in the creator economy actually work — deliverables, usage, and fees 02:48 Who Frank's clients are — creators, management companies, and agencies 03:18 Flat fee and subscription law versus hourly billing in the creator economy 04:21 Pull marketing on LinkedIn and why Frank's growth comes from long-term relationship building 06:12 Why entertainment lawyers have to be different — the lawyer of yes versus the lawyer of no 07:30 Business is the gas, legal is the brakes — and why you need both 08:38 Marketing agencies that try to remove brand liability from the deal — and why that is a red flag 10:13 What a typical creator brand deal actually looks like step by step 11:45 The brands that say they won't accept red lines under $25,000 — and why that is a mistake 13:19 When a creator is catching fire and a brand wants to lock them up exclusively — how to advise them 14:14 The REV Model — Rights, Expectations, Value, and Visibility explained 16:37 The single most dangerous clause hiding in almost every brand contract — Delaware choice of law 18:08 How to push back on Delaware jurisdiction when the brand's offices are somewhere else entirely 19:34 How often Frank actually gets pushback from the other side — and what CMOs and paralegals do instead 20:37 Why both sides get excited about getting the deal done and set aside their better judgment 21:50 Why non-negotiable really never means non-negotiable — and the deals that tanked over one or two notes 23:26 When a creator says yes to perpetual usage rights — what they are actually handing over 25:00 You can have the car but we keep the keys — how to structure ownership without giving everything away 27:09 Talent shows, reality TV, and why the golden rule is the producer owns everything they capture 30:40 If you produce it you own it — the core distinction between traditional entertainment law and creator law 32:49 Brand goes silent after a campaign — what Frank actually does to chase payment 33:32 Ordering product off the brand's website to find the fulfillment center and sue them there 34:24 Going after patents and IP rights when there is no inventory to liquidate 35:10 Credit checks, deposits, escrow, and prepayments — the proactive approach 36:00 The agency that put brand payments in a personal account and then filed for personal bankruptcy #FrankPoe #PoeLaw #CreatorEconomy #TrustcastShow #InfluencerContracts #BrandDeals #ContentCreatorLaw #RightOfPublicity #CreatorRights #EntertainmentLaw
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May 2 202631 mins