Fight for your rights

If you had co-created the granddaddy of reality series, chances are you'd be hyper-aware when it comes to protecting the rights of your future projects. That's why Jonathan Murray, president of Van Nuys, California-based Bunim/Murray Productions, the prodco behind The Real World, has updated his negotiation tactics since making the original deal for the show with MTV in 1991. Back then, Bunim/Murray was just getting started, and the deal was cut and dry: 'MTV owns the copyright to the show,' says Murray. 'MTV bought it, and we had participation in various aspects of any revenue that would be generated from it.'