Tony Iliakostas, also known as Prof. T, is the Manager of ABC News Rights and Clearances and an Adjunct Professor at New York Law School, teaching Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property. In his role at ABC News, Tony handles complex copyright licensing for various ABC News programs, including “Good Morning America,” “20/20,” “Nightline,” and other related ABC News branded programs. Tony also works closely with the news division’s business affairs and legal departments on various risk assessment matters when licensing photos and videos for the broadcasts as well as mitigating any legal claims in the event there is a copyright infringement claim. Tony also has experience in personality rights licensing, having handled the licensing of various dead celebrities including Albert Einstein, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other iconic celebrities in his role as Business Affairs Manager at Greenlight. Tony most recently started an Instagram account called @TheIPProfessor as a way to encourage, educate, and entertain people about the wonderful world of intellectual property. Tony is a graduate of Fordham University, Class of 2011, and New York Law School, Class of 2014.
In an interview with Anuj Kumar, Founder – Legal Desire, Tony shared his journey from law school to the multiple roles that he is handling now in the field of Intellectual Property. Read the full conversation below:
Introduce your journey from Law School to becoming an IP Professor?
I attended Fordham University in the Bronx, NY and graduated in 2011, majoring in communications and media studies. I knew that I wanted to go to law school but I wasn’t quite sure what avenue in the law I wanted to pursue. Over time, I realized that my love of sports academically and personally was something that I could use to pursue legal career, and so I decided that I would go into law school with a keen interest in practicing sports law with a specific interest in becoming a sports agent. I started New York Law School in 2011 after graduating college. I quickly realized that being a sports agent wasn’t the right route for me to pursue. Nevertheless, I was very passionate about pursuing a career in sports law, and so during my 1L year, I decided to start my very own sports law video blog called “Law and Batting Order.” I wrote my own scripts, I researched the legal topics, I edited and posted my videos online, and I even did my own grassroots marketing for the site while attending law school full-time. “Law and Batting Order” was not only a way for me to understand the nuances of sports law, but it served as conversation starters at networking events. As I produced more episodes of “Law and Batting Order,” I quickly found that intellectual property was the one area of the law that fascinated me. Yes, sports law was something I truly loved, but IP was a world in it of its own that fascinated me and whether I pursued IP in the realm of sports or entertainment or general media, I knew it was something I wanted to do professionally.
Fast forward to the summer after 2L, when I had the unique opportunity to intern at ABC News Rights and Clearances. It was there that I learned all about photo and video licensing and copyright law and how it’s used in the context of news reporting. I fell in love right away. I had the pleasure of interning at ABC News all through my 3L year. Upon graduating New York Law School in 2014, I returned to ABC News Rights and Clearances as a freelance associate. While it was a 7.5 month work opportunity, it was my foot in the door to pursue more meaningful full-time work.
In March 2015, I was hired as the business affairs manager of Greenlight, a rights and clearances agency based in NYC which specialized in photo, film, and music clearances for major brands and advertising agencies. However, another branch of the company specialized in representing dead celebrities. In my role, I handled a number of clearances for iconic deceased celebrities and their estates, but the main account I worked on was Albert Einstein. I regularly worked with his estate on a variety of clearances and inquiries, but I was also responsible for managing all of the official Albert Einstein social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, which collectively have about 25 million followers. In my role at Greenlight, I fell in love with post-mortem personality rights licensing and enforcement, an area of IP law that I believe is incredibly underdiscussed but truly fascinating.
Then, in August 2017, I returned to ABC News Rights and Clearances as manager of the department, where I am still working. I handle photo and video licensing for a number of ABC News programs and special projects, but I also work on complex contract issues and work in tandem with other divisions of ABC News like our production team, business affairs, and our legal departments to ensure that all broadcasts are executed efficiently and effectively from a copyright point of view.
What I am most thankful about my job at ABC News is that I have the ability to pursue “side projects” that I’m passionate about, and so in 2018, I began exploring the possibility of teaching students all about copyright and IP. One thing led to another and I had the unique opportunity to New York Law School, this time as an adjunct professor of law. I teach Entertainment Law in the fall semester and Intellectual Property in the spring semester. I love teaching because it allows me to share my love and passion for the subject matter while equipping the next generation of legal professionals.
What is the scope of IPR in the coming years?
Intellectual property rights have been a staple in the realm of arts, media, fashion, sports, and entertainment. I think as these industries continue to evolve, with it comes an evolution of how IP rights are created, used, and understood. For example, in 2001, news broadcasts likely licensed third-party photos and videos for television broadcast only. Fast forward to today, we watch our news on SO MANY PLATFORMS: television, streaming services, cell phones, etc. And so when news broadcasts like ABC News license third party material, the licensing of copyrighted material not only appears on traditional media but it’s made its way to new media. In the same way, I think that as consumers and as legal professionals, we must be cognizant that IP will continue to evolve and grow as an industry and we have to be accommodating to that change.
Do you think people know and understand the value of their intellectual property?
To some extent, I think most people know what intellectual property is. I think where the disconnect exists is understanding the worth and purpose of IP as a standalone industry and as integral part of business. Many of my friends who graduated law school with me are small business attorneys and many of them publicly profess how brands can’t think that just because they created a logo for their business that it’s enough; these same friends of mine instill the importance of getting marks registered and building a TM portfolio because protecting those trademarks are vital to the success and value of the business. I’ve heard the same stories from attorneys who work with clients that produce photography and they don’t go the extra length to register their photos as copyrighted works. So I think the moral of the story is the only way people can understand why IP is important and the value it generates is through education, whether that’s an attorney walking through the process step by step with a client who is need of protecting their IP or somebody like myself who is in the business of educating people about intellectual property.
What kind of risk assessment matters do you work on?
Without going into too much detail, most of my risk assessment matters deal with primarily questions of copyright. In the news business, we produce our own content, but it’s very common to license material from other entities. However, if we enter contract negotiations with a licensor for photos/videos that they have and they provide us a quitclaim agreement, then my role is to work with our attorneys, our production team, and our business affairs team to essentially weigh the risk of signing the agreement as is or not moving forward. Oftentimes it’s a long process but what I appreciate most about the risk assessment process is that it’s a very collaborative opportunity for everyone to work together.
How does working with ABC news programs and being a professor at the same time work for you?
Thankfully, they don’t interfere! My Monday-to-Friday day job is at ABC News so that’s what takes up my schedule all the time. Being a professor is pretty low-maintenance though because I only teach once a week and I have a good handle of the curriculum having now taught it for two straight years. I really have it made because I love working for ABC News and I love teaching so when you have those two things together, you couldn’t ask for anything better!
What exactly is personality rights licensing?
Personality rights is a branch of IP in which one’s name, image, and likeness is used for commercial purposes. Personality rights extends to both living and dead people (post-mortem). So personality rights licensing is when one appropriately seeks permission to use one’s name, image, and likeness for commercial purposes. If you’re dealing with living people and you need to licensing their personality rights, usually you would contact the person directly for permission; if that living person happens to be an athlete or a celebrity, then you would typically contact their agent or manager. For post-mortem personality rights licensing, working with the deceased person’s estate is vital.
How would you describe your experience at Fordham?
Fordham was the best schooling experience I could have ever asked for. I lived out the true campus life in NYC while also learning so much. The professors were genuine, the classroom experience was one of a kind, and it’s thanks to Fordham and my undergraduate studies in Communications and Media Studies that I have a career at ABC News today.
Your Instagram account is a hit today, how and when did you plan to create this account?
Ironically, I planned it on a whim as I was wrapping up teaching IP during the Spring 2021 semester. I really didn’t have a set gameplan or approach necessarily. I am a very passionate professor in the classroom and any of my students can tell you how excited I am about IP. So I figured “why not share my love of IP beyond the classroom?” And I would do instilling the same principles I use in the classroom: through memes, videos, and humor. Over the course of maybe two weeks, I was brainstorming ideas for an account name, and I asked my wife what she thought of @TheIPProfessor has an Instagram handle, and she loved it! So I created the account, my students started following, I started following other IP attorneys and various student organizations just get my name out there and it’s seemed to work so far. What I think is most impressive is that I only launched the account in April 2021 and as of today (August 21, 2021), I’m already 1 follower away from 500. It’s very exciting to see my account grow and to see what’s in store.
Can you tell us about the most interesting and exciting matter you were a part of?
It seems silly, but literally clearing photos and videos for our daily ABC News programming is really special to me. Behind the scenes, to license a photo or video for our news shows, it involves a lot of emails, sometimes intense negotiations, and contract drafting. Eventually the deal gets done. But then, when I get home and watch Nightline, 20/20, or any other ABC News program and see a piece of content that I cleared, I sit back in awe because my work in licensing that one photo or video is part of the storytelling process that millions of people around the country and the world are watching. It gives me pause and deep appreciation for the work that me and my Rights and Clearances team do each and every day.
How was your experience as Business Affairs Manager at Greenlight?
It was a lot of fun. It was certainly different from any other experience I had because it was my first true experience in the realm of personality rights licensing, specifically for deceased iconic celebrities. I really enjoyed managing the Albert Einstein account and working with his estate on all relevant licensing matters. I think the 2.5 years I spent at Greenlight definitely gave me the knowledge and passion I have for personality rights and the vital role it plays in IP today.
What is that one thing you would like to impart to your students?
BE YOURSELF!
Law school, unfortunately, pressures students into believing that they have to be in the top 10% of their class in order to succeed, that they have to be on law review, that they have to be on moot court, that they have to do this clinic…you know what? You don’t have to do ANYTHING! I graduated from law school with a 3.03 GPA and sat in the 67th percentile in my class. And guess what? Everything turned out pretty great for me! My advice to students is that if you work hard during law school, make connections and networks, try to build your own individual brand, and be a genuine human being, then you’re headed in the right direction in this world.
Lastly, If not this, what would you be doing?
I would probably be a sports agent after all.
