Overview
Kelly Klaus’s practice focuses on copyright, entertainment and related litigation, including antitrust and class action litigation.
Kelly has represented the major motion picture studios, the major recorded music companies and many other entities in some of their highest-profile litigation matters for more than 20 years. In addition to litigating, Kelly regularly counsels clients on copyright, software licensing and other intellectual property issues.
Kelly has been ranked for more than a decade in Chambers USA as a leading litigator in Media & Entertainment Litigation. He has also been recognized in the Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets category.
He is a frequent speaker at programs on copyright issues. Kelly has taught appellate advocacy at Stanford Law School.
Capabilities
Industries
Experience
Copyright Litigation
- Disney, Lucasfilm, Fox and other studios in a copyright infringement and anti-circumvention litigation against VidAngel.
- The Motion Picture Association of America and its member studios in:
- securing an injunction against the operators of Zediva, an unlicensed video-on-demand service.
- obtaining a permanent injunction against RealNetworks for its “RealDVD” device for copying DVDs.
- numerous copyright cases as amicus curiae in the U.S. Supreme Court and circuit courts around the country.
- A film and television studio in numerous litigation matters, including representing the studio and an entertainment news program against a claim based on the posting of a video of a famous actor and recording artist discussing the music of another recording artist.
- Disney in multiple matters, including defending claims of copyright infringement related to facial motion capture software and in lawsuits relating to the motion picture “Frozen”.
- The National Fire Protection Association, a major standard-setting organization, in litigation challenging whether standards lose their copyright protection when government bodies incorporate them by reference.
- SoundExchange, on behalf of sound recording copyright owners, in the Copyright Royalty Board’s Web IV proceedings to set royalty rates for broadcasters operating under the statutory license.
- The major recorded music companies in a copyright infringement action against LimeWire and its founder. After obtaining a permanent injunction against LimeWire, Munger Tolles proceeded to a damages trial in U.S. District Court. Two weeks into trial, the defendants agreed to pay the record companies $105 million.
- Universal Music Group in claims for secondary copyright liability against Bertelsmann AG and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners arising out of the infringing Napster service.
- Electronic Arts in copyright litigation alleging that Zynga’s online social game “The Ville” infringed EA’s copyrighted game “Sims Social.”
- Green Hills Software in successfully defending a five-month arbitration alleging copyright infringement relating to application program interfaces for computer programs.
Media and Entertainment Litigation
- FX Networks and Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group in obtaining a precedent-setting Court of Appeal decision dismissing, under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, a defamation and right of publicity lawsuit brought by actress Olivia de Havilland based on her portrayal in the docudrama “Feud: Bette and Joan”.
- The Motion Picture Association and its member studios in defending against a class action lawsuit alleging that the MPAA’s motion picture rating service is required to give an “R” rating to any movie featuring any tobacco imagery.
- NCAA in the O’Bannon litigation, which challenged the rules of amateurism governing college athletics.
- Activision-Blizzard in its successful defense against a right of publicity action filed by former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega arising out of a Noriega character in a “Call of Duty” game set against the backdrop of the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.
- Universal Music Group in defending against antitrust claims arising out of the wholesale prices for permanent downloads on iTunes and other download services.
Education
Stanford Law School (J.D., 1992) Order of the Coif
University of California, Los Angeles (B.A., 1989)
Clerkships
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, U.S. Supreme Court, 1995-1996
Judge Pamela Ann Rymer, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, 1993-1994
Judge William H. Orrick, Jr., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 1992-1993
Admissions
California
More
- Chambers USA, consistently ranked as a leading litigator in both Media & Entertainment and Intellectual Property: Trademark, Copyright & Trade Secrets
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2024-2026
- Power Lawyer, The Hollywood Reporter, 2017-2020, 2022-2024
- Top Intellectual Property Lawyers, Daily Journal, 2017-2020, 2023-2024
- Top attorneys in the entertainment business, Legal Impact Report, Variety, 2018
- Most Influential Intellectual Property Lawyers, Los Angeles Business Journal, 2017
- Media & Entertainment MVP, Law360, 2017
- Member, Los Angeles Copyright Society
- Member, Copyright Society of the United States
- Member, Legal Advisory Board, Copyright Alliance
- Member, Planning Committee, USC Intellectual Property Institute
- Served on board of visitors, Stanford Law School
- Past member, board of governors, Association of Business Trial Lawyers, Los Angeles
