UK-based Amanda Harcourt has devoted her distinguished professional career to the interests, rights and revenues of authors and performers in the U.S. and Europe.
Harcourt’s early film work in the 1980s was complemented by her acting as lead author and editor for a book on the law and trade practices of the independent film and television sector - a text labelled on publication as “ground breaking” by the UK’s Financial Times.
She has a particular expertise in the worldwide collective administration of IP rights and the regulatory regimes of administering bodies (CMOs). Her unmatched reputation as a complex problem-solver grew significantly as she conducted a global audit in the early 1990s on behalf of the global musical powerhouse U2. This work consisted of an inquiry into their collectively administered revenues as both authors and performers. Equivalent forensic work for other similarly positioned music luminaries quickly followed.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 100 Global Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting | 2026 | International Copyright, Creators’ Advocacy |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 100 Global Leaders in Legal Strategy & Consulting | 2025 | International Copyright |
Most recently, Harcourt spearheaded successful US Federal litigation in relation to a cult music motion picture which resulted in all rights being returned to the control of the original creators.
She is now retained as legal advisor to the global songwriters and composers council, the UK trade body for cinematographers, and the UK CMO for film craft workers (film editors, designers and cinematographers). She is also retained by the creators of a revolutionary new software system that can read and analyze over 250 different royalty payor accounting statements and formats. The system’s unique capabilities enable the cleansing of copyright metadata and detailed identification and tracking of the copyrights’ exploitation: revenue sources, territories, the routes of income and the royalty values arising from initial exploitation by sub-licensees onward into the ultimate hands of creators and copyright owners. The system promises to be a vital tool in rebalancing the battlespace for un- and undercompensated creators.
Harcourt spent 11 years as an Adjunct Professor in entertainment law at a top-tier US university. She is now an Honorary Professor of Practice with the Institute of Brand and Innovation Law at the UK’s No. 1 law faculty, the Faculty of Laws at University College London (UCL). 2026 will mark the tenth year that she has designed and chaired an annual UCL public event addressing law and practice relating to privacy, data protection and international data transfers.
Further details can be found at https://harcourt.global
