Lawyer
Appointed Public Accountant
Mediator
Office
Munich
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Prof. Dr. Mathias Schwarz
Prof. Dr. Mathias Schwarz
Of Counsel
Perhaps providing legal advice for the movie “The Name of the Rose,” for which I was retained as a very young lawyer by Bernd Eichinger (Constantin Film). At that time, the international production and financing business in Germany was hardly developed. We had to deal with experienced UK and US attorneys, Dutch banks, and French and Italian co-producers. This was exciting and instructive, but there was certainly some anxiety involved.
Mathias Schwarz advises on movie and TV productions, copyright and personality rights, licensing, and media financing. His clients are financial institutions, private investors, movie and TV producers, as well as broadcasting and publishing companies. He also represents a number of renowned individuals in the German media industry. In addition, he has been advising a number of family offices and private clients for a long time.
Career
- Studied law at the universities of Munich, Freiburg and Geneva
- Stage abroad during legal clerkship in a law firm in Rome
- Doctorate with Prof. Fikentscher on a topic of industrial constitution law
- Three years head of the legal department of the Kirch Group
- Since 1987 at SKW Schwarz
- Since 1991 also admitted as auditor
- Since 1995 Honorary Professor, first in Leipzig, then at the Academy for Television and Film, Munich
- Since 2005 also active as a mediator
- Since 2008 also working as legal advisor for the Allianz Deutscher Produzenten - Film & Fernsehen e.V
Awards & Recognitions
Chambers Europe 2020–2022
Recommended lawyer in the category „Media“
“Whenever it comes to film financing or production agreements for broadcasters, Mathias Schwarz is the right person and a clear number one in the market.” (2021)
Chambers Europe: Germany 2018–2019
Recommended lawyer in the category “TMT: Media”
Handelsblatt
One of Germany’s best business lawyers
Handelsblatt in cooperation with Best Lawyers: Germany’s Best Lawyers 2017–2021
Recommended lawyer in the categories “Entertainment Law” and “Media Law” (2017-2022)
Recommended lawyer in the category “Media and Copyright Law” (2017-2022)
Lawyer of the Year in the category “Media and Copyright Law” (2018)
Lawyer of the Year in the category “Entertainment” and recommended lawyer in the category “Media and Copyright Law” (2017)
JUVE Handbook: German Commercial Law Firms 2018–2022/2023
Frequently recommended lawyer in the category "Technology and Media: Media (Contract & Copyright Law / Transactions & Financing)" (2022/2023)
Frequently recommended lawyer in the category “Technology and Media: Media” (2019/2020)
Leading individual in the category “Copyright Law” (2019–2022/2023)
Frequently recommended lawyer in the category "Contract and Copyright Law/Transactions and Financing” (2020/2021, 2021/2022)
Frequently recommended lawyer in the category “Technology and Media: Media” and leading name in the category “Copyright Law” (2018/2019)
Client about him: "expert in movie funding laws, top copyright lawyer" (2022/2023)
Competitor about him: “absolute specialist” (2021/2022)
Competitor about him: “professional and sovereign” (2020/2021)
Competitor about him: “professional and fast” (2018/2019)
The Legal 500: Germany 2021, 2022
Recommended lawyer in the category “Media – Entertainment” (2021, 2022)
Recommended lawyer in the category “Media – Digital Content” (2021)
“(...) the greatest merits (are) still reaped in the film industry. There, Mathias Schwarz was able to negotiate a short-time collective agreement for film productions, which was able to relieve the filmmakers who had been unsettled by COVID-19.” (2021)
Who’s Who Legal: Data 2018–2020
Recommended lawyer in the category “Telecoms & Media”
“Mathias Schwarz is a seasoned and revered practitioner who represents broadcasting companies, film and TV producers, and individuals within the German media industry on licensing, financing and copyright matters.” (2020)
“Renowned for his work in the media space, receiving commendations from peers for his excellent work advising on a range of matters from film and TV productions, media licensing and financing.” (2018)
Who’s Who Legal Germany 2018–2021
Recommended lawyer in the category “Data” (2021)
Recommended lawyer in the category “Sports & Entertainment” (2018–2021)
“Mathias Schwarz enjoys a strong reputation as a long-standing figure in the market who provides stellar advice in matters of licensing, financing and copyright issues.” (2020)
“A prominent name in the entertainment sector, who regularly advises financial institutions, private investors and TV and film productions.”
Recommended lawyer in the category “Technology, Media & Telecommunications” (2019)
“An esteemed lawyer in the film and media space with a raft of high-profile clients from across Europe and the US. His world-class practice encompasses movie productions, licensing and broadcasting among other matters.” (2018)
Kanzleien in Deutschland
Eminent authority in movie law
Miscellaneous activities
In 2005, Mathias Schwarz founded MiMMA e.V. - mediation in the media, music & the arts e.V. He is a lecturer at Munich University of TV and Film and regularly publishes on media law topics.
Mathias Schwarz heads the cinema and animation section of Allianz Deutscher Produzenten – Film & Fernsehen e.V., which he helped to establish in 2008.
He is also a sustaining member of the Deutsche Filmakademie e.V. and deputy chairman of the advisory board of the Bunt Foundation, Munich. Mathias Schwarz is also the founding director of Freunde des Filmfests München.
