Asked in Business Law, International Law and Internet Law for New York

Q: Hello.

I want to create a VOD website for movies. The idea is that it will work as a fundraising site for artists, so That the projects will be presented to customers who will then donate to finance the production of the movie, once it is produced they will receive a copy of the film, to stream in our site. However I don’t know what laws say about this? Is it allowed, is it considered “pre-order” of a product that does not exist or a donation? If it’s allowed are there limits on how much money can be collected?

If possible to give me an answer, I’ll appreciate it.

1 Lawyer Answer
Daniel Michael Luisi
Daniel Michael Luisi
Answered
  • BROOKLYN, NY
  • Licensed in New York

A: It sounds like a crowdfunding campaign for a creative project in development, where the entrepreneur takes back orders before actually having the inventory to fill the orders. Check out kickstarter as a possible starting point. Many creative entrepreneurs have used it to successfully launch their products or service on a limited budget. It goes without saying that your project shouldn’t violate the terms of service or federal or state law. https://www.kickstarter.com/about. Securities laws may provide some restrictions on your project. See for example https://www.nasaa.org/industry-resources/securities-issuers/instrastate-crowdfunding-resources/. It’s not possible to say more before reviewing your proposed project in detail.

Samuil Buschkin agrees with this answer

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