BSCR attorneys have experience counseling and representing local, national, and international clients in the broad range of issues encountered by those in the art, entertainment and fashion industries.

Our attorneys represent individuals, and companies of all sizes, from the independent entrepreneur to the Fortune 500 Company, from the fashion designer to the apparel manufacturer and retailer, from the independent musician to the record company, and from the commercial art gallery to the non-profit museum.

Specifically, our attorneys counsel and represent clients in the following areas: 

• Business formation and structuring
• Contracts and agreements (distribution, employment, endorsement, leasing, licensing, marketing, merchandising, non-compete/disclosure, royalty, trade secret and more)
• Trademark, copyright, and patent infringement litigation
• Employee benefits, executive compensation, and workplace policies
• Import, export and customs
• Labor and employment
• Litigation, alternative dispute resolution and appeals
• Royalty collection
• Trade secret misappropriation
• Trademark and copyright registration, monitoring, enforcement and defense

Additionally, our attorneys volunteer and are otherwise involved in organizations supporting the art, entertainment and fashion industries, such as the Volunteer Lawyers & Accountants for the Arts, St. Louis Fashion Fund, Arts KC, and National Bluegrass Organization.

For more information about the services we provide to the Art, Entertainment & Fashion industries contact John Patterson in Kansas City at 816.471.2121 or Martha Charepoo in St. Louis at 314.345.5000.

News & Events

Jessica Cozart Joins St. Louis Office of Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice

07.11.19 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice is pleased to welcome Jessica Cozart to the firm's St. Louis office. Cozart joins the firm as Of Counsel, practicing in the areas of property and casualty litigation, insurance coverage and insurance defense involving claims of personal injury, premise and products liability, construction defects, food & beverage liability and entertainment & leisure liability.

John Patterson Quoted in IPWatchdog.com Article about the CASE Act

05.17.19 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice Member John Patterson is quoted in an IPWatchdog.com article about the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, reintroduced as H.R. 2426 in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 1. Patterson opines in the article that...

Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice Promotes John Patterson to Member

01.11.18 | Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice is pleased to announce the promotion of John Patterson to Member effective January 1, 2018. Patterson practices in the areas of product liability, employment, construction/fidelity and surety, financial services litigation, premises liability...

Blog Posts

Can You Compel Arbitration? You May Have the Right to Ask Your Arbitrator

07.09.20 | Missouri Court of Appeals compels arbitration, where the parties agreed to submit threshold issues of arbitrability to a third-party neutral rather than the court.

Tips for Small Businesses Considering PPP Loan Relief

04.30.20 | An additional $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program was approved by the United States Legislature, and applications resumed this Monday. But many small businesses still have questions about how to use the money, how to qualify for forgiveness, and whether the PPP Loan Program is right for them.

Employees Aggrieved Out-of-State Cannot Sue Missouri-based Employers under the Missouri Human Rights Act.

03.11.20 | Missouri Supreme Court held the Missouri Human Rights Act is not a remedy for out-of-state employees aggrieved by discriminatory practices of Missouri-headquartered companies.

Kansas City Area Saw Increase in Defense Verdicts in 2019, According to Annual Jury Data

03.02.20 | The data is out on Kansas City area jury verdicts for calendar year 2019, and it contains mostly good news for defendants. While the total number of jury verdicts was up slightly from 2018, the percentage of those verdicts in plaintiffs' favor was down, with nearly 60% of claims that went to a jury ending in a defense verdict. 2019 also saw a drop of almost 30% in the number of verdicts over $1 million. Although the data shows a rise in the average verdict amount, that increase is entirely attributable to a single mega verdict of more than $100 million; controlling for that outlier, the size of the average award was also down significantly.

Arbitration Agreements 101: they require - you guessed it - agreement.

09.13.19 | Though seemingly obvious, the Eighth Circuit affirmed arbitration agreements are not immune to contract law basics when it denied an employer's motion to compel arbitration for lack of acceptance.

Second Update: Hopping On The Missouri Bandwagon? Not So Fast Out Of State Litigants.

07.16.19 | SECOND UPDATE: Missouri Governor Mike Parson signs Senate Bill 7, which amends venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.

Update: Hopping on the Missouri Bandwagon? Not so Fast Out-of-State Litigants.

05.20.19 | UPDATE: House Passes Senate Bill 7, in which the Missouri legislature seeks to amend venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.

Hopping on the Missouri Bandwagon? Not so Fast Out-of-State Litigants.

03.18.19 | In Senate Bill 7, the Missouri legislature seeks to amend venue and joinder laws, to prevent out of state plaintiffs from litigating their cases in an inappropriate venue.

Illinois Supreme Court Confirms State's Biometric Information Privacy Act Has Real Teeth

02.18.19 | Illinois Supreme Court has held that no damages beyond the statutory violation itself are required to state a claim for the improper collection, retention, or dissemination of biometric identifiers under Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act.

When it Comes to Nonconforming Goods, is the Customer Always Right?

01.23.19 | Applying Missouri Law, the Eighth Circuit confirms that when a company guarantees customer satisfaction, only to leave the customer unsatisfied, it risks not only its business reputation, but also its legal right to collect payment.

City of St. Louis - Still A Judicial Hellhole

12.26.18 | Defense attorneys beware. The 2018-2019 American Tort Reform Foundation's (ATRF) Judicial Hellholes Report is out, and the City of St. Louis landed fourth on this list because of its massive verdicts, forum shopping, and legislative failures.

Gender Stereotypes Now Serve as a Basis for Sex Discrimination Claim under the MHRA

12.18.17 | Despite an uptick in advocacy, support, and inclusion of the LGTBQ community over the past several decades, as of today, discrimination based on sexual orientation remains an invalid claim under the Missouri Human Rights Act (“MHRA”). However, in a recent decision by the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals...

Court of Appeals Affirms that At-Will Employment Is Not Sufficient Consideration for an Arbitration Agreement, Refuses to Change Law

12.14.17 | The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Southern District upholds denial of an employer's motion to compel arbitration ruling that at-will employment is insufficient consideration to support an arbitration agreement and denying employer's request to find that, in accordance with federal policy, at-will employment should be sufficient consideration for an arbitration agreement.

Release of Liability Contained in Event Entry Form Held to Apply to a Subsequently Added Event Sponsor

01.15.12 | On any given week, most of us are asked to sign at least one or two releases of liability for various sporting and recreational events. The Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District recently held those releases may be effective as to entities who were not releasees at the time the releasor signed the document.