May 10, 2022

Kelly Klaus Deemed Top IP Lawyer by the Daily Journal for the Sixth Consecutive Year

The Daily Journal named Munger, Tolles & Olson litigation partner Kelly Klaus as one of the Top Intellectual Property Lawyers in California. He has made the list every year since 2017.

The award recognizes 75 of California’s leading patent, trademark and copyright attorneys.

Mr. Klaus was chosen for the honor based upon his extensive anti-piracy work for Hollywood’s leading entertainment companies including The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros., Netflix, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, the Motion Picture Association and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment.

The profile recognized Mr. Klaus’s work defending Disney against copyright infringement claims based on the studio’s film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. The plaintiffs in that case allege the film incorporates basic elements of their screenplay, which, like Disney’s movie, was based on the beloved Disneyland theme park ride. The district court originally dismissed the case, but the Ninth Circuit reversed for additional factual development, and the case is back in the district court.

Mr. Klaus was also recognized for serving as lead counsel for ACE, a global consortium of studios and other content companies, in a copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit. The defendant, who ran three subscription streaming platforms that each infringed on ACE members’ content, had previously settled and signed an agreement to stop infringing. But the defendant breached the agreement and started another infringing service. Mr. Klaus and the MTO team secured a default judgment and permanent injunction against further infringement.

Kelly Klaus is a litigation partner in the San Francisco office of Munger, Tolles & Olson. His practice focuses on copyright and related litigation, and he regularly counsels clients on copyright, software licensing and other intellectual property issues.