Kelly M. Klaus

Key Representations

• FX Networks and Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group in obtaining dismissal under California’s anti-SLAPP statute of a defamation lawsuit brought by actress Olivia de Havilland involving the program “Feud: Bette and Joan.”
• Disney, Lucasfilm, Fox and Warner Bros. in a copyright infringement and circumvention action against VidAngel.
• The Motion Picture Association of America 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.
  • 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.
• TMZ and Warner Bros. in copyright litigation arising out of TMZ’s posting of a video of a famous actor and recording artist discussing the music of another recording artist.
• Disney in defending claims of copyright infringement related 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.
• NCAA in the O’Bannon litigation, which challenges 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.
• 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.
  • defending against antitrust claims arising out of the wholesale prices for permanent downloads on iTunes and other download services.
• Advising and representing clients in software licensing and computer software infringement matters.
• 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.