Christiane Stuetzle

Christiane is a partner of Morrison & Foerster (International) LLP based in our German office in Berlin and Co-Chair of the Global Film & Entertainment Practice of Morrison & Foerster. She is a Certified Specialist for Copyright and Media Law & Arbitrator on the International Arbitration Panel of the IFTA (Independent Film & Television Alliance, Los Angeles). Her practice focuses on matters in the field of film, music & entertainment as well as legal and strategic advice and lobbying support at all stages of the development, financing, production and distribution of audiovisual products.

Christiane’s recent projects include the TV series “Homeland” and “Berlin Station,” which were the first major international TV series shooting in Germany, and international feature films such as “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Cure for Wellness,” “Book Thief,” “Monuments Men,” “Hitman: Agent 47,” and “Big Business,” among others.

She advises several major Hollywood studios and independent film & television producers and distributors on international co-productions, including financing structures, distribution, title clearance, collection of royalties, and in litigation matters before German Courts. With regard to German state subsidies, Christiane also frequently leads and moderates negotiations between U.S. distributors, German local co-producing partners, and German subsidy boards with regard to recoupment agreements for subsidies received, and handles requests relating to participation statements rendered.

Christiane's work also involves ongoing advice to film distributors and TV stations on all distribution related matters, including output deals, digitization strategies, online distribution, event cinema, compliance training, etc. In the gaming sector, she is assisting a U.S.-based studio on all matters relating to the German rollout of online games, including youth protection, unfair competition law, and others.

Christiane functions as the external business and legal affairs department of the local language film production division of a Hollywood studio. In this role, she puts together international financing and co-productions, both for projects internationally shot as well as German language projects, and negotiates with international producers as well as with talent agents for German and international casts; she also assists in aligning standards between Hollywood and Germany.

Christiane's work also involves legal advice and the negotiating of theatrical, home video and television license agreements for various film distributors and associations as well as lobbying work in the legislation process. Furthermore, she serves as the permanent legal advisor to various radio and television channels with regard to all issues arising under media law, including copyright law, media concentration law, unfair competition, press and trademark law, as well as litigation.

Christiane is the founder and organizer of the Berlin office's annual film production and financing panel and reception for high ranking individuals from the international film community, held during the Berlin Film Festival since 2002. She has published various articles on media law topics. She regularly publishes articles on cross‑border media topics, is co-author of a film and media law handbook, and was appointed by the European Commission as an expert for a Twinning Project relating to the digitization process in Bulgaria. Christiane Stützle is active in an organization for the top women in the German media industry and is a board member of the Female Supervisory Board of Hypo Vereinsbank/ Unicredit. She was shortlisted to the Legal Media Group’s European Women in Business Law Awards in 2014 and 2015.

Christiane is a member of the Berlin Bar (first admitted to the Bar in 1998) and of the German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR). She obtained her additional qualification as a Certified Specialist for Copyright and Media Law in 2008, which, in addition to written exams, requires profound experience by providing a case list of no less than 20 litigation matters handled as well as a minimum of 80 copyright and media related non-litigation cases and annual proof of continuing legal practice and education in this field to the German Bar.

Representative Experience

• Advising several U.S. based studios regarding the structuring and realization of international TV series shooting in Germany, e.g., “Homeland,” “Berlin Station.”
• Advising several U.S. based studios regarding the structuring and realization of international feature film co‑productions, e.g., “Cure for Wellness,” “The Other Side of the Door,” “Big Business,” “Hitman: Agent 47,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “The Book Thief,” etc. 
• Handling of business and legal affairs for the local language division of a major studio, handling of local language (co-)productions, e.g., “Antonio im Wunderland,” “Rico, Oskar und die Tieferschatten,” “Rico, Oskar und das Herzgebreche,” “Rico, Oskar und der Diebstahlstein,” “Doktorspiele,” “What a Man,” “Schlussmacher,” etc. 
• Advising the theatrical and home entertainment division of a U.S. studio with regard to theatrical, video and DVD distribution in Europe, including digitization strategies, competition law and piracy matters.
• Advising the German film distributor association VdF in connection with the digitization agreement for the so called “criteria film theatres.”  
• Advising The History Channel on documentary formats produced in Germany for its German TV channels. 
• Film library valuation and due diligence, among others, of KirchMedia's film library and of former Kinowelt's library.
• Advising NBC Universal pay-TV channels on licensing and distribution matters.