Attorneys Adams, Keith G. Barnes, Heather A. Beene, LaKeysia R. Blute, Jonathan M. Bradley, Michael P. Cardona, Kevin D. Driscoll, Adrian G. Everson, Janet L. Fellner, Jason E. Fessler, Renate B. Gillespie, Patrick Girarde, John P. Grealish, Laura R. Halloran, Timothy J. Harris, Arthur J. Hsu, Jeff C. Iversen, Kristin Kearney, Philip J. Koodrich, Benjamin C. Larson, Nicholas C. Lassart, James A. Leveroni, Joseph S. Lew, Alston L. Macbride, Geoffrey T. Mahoney, Kelley T. Mazzucco, Thomas P. Mazzucco, Thomas F. McClellan, Aaron K. Muñoz, William A. Murphy, James A. Neville, Karen Pavlova, Alina Pearson, Arthur V. Perelman, Mark S. Saalfeld, Bryan L.P. Sacharski, Adrian Shields, Kimberly A. Stromeyer, Karen K. Tagliere, Suzie M. Ulrich, Christopher R. Watkins, Harlan B. Weber, Peter L. Weiss, Erik P. Wingfield, Patrick J. Yee, Stephanie Zagari, Dina Practice Business Catastrophic Injury Class Action/Mass Torts Construction Employment Hospitality Intellectual Property Product Liability Professional Liability Tax White Collar Crime

Notice:

Unsolicited e-mails and information sent to Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney will not be considered confidential, may be disclosed to others pursuant to our Privacy Policy, may not receive a response, and do not create an attorney-client relationship with Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney. Please note that our attorneys do not seek to practice law in any jurisdiction in which they are not properly authorized to do so. Close

Keith G. Adams

Director

Mr. Adams represents individuals and businesses in all phases of civil litigation with a focus on corporate and insurance litigation, intellectual property, and professional liability. Mr. Adams counsels clients in a variety of matters related to copyright and trademark infringement defense, rights of publicity, defamation, breach of contract, employment and professional malpractice claims.

Prior to joining Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney, Mr. Adams worked on high profile intellectual property disputes, including copyright termination rights, copyright infringement and entertainment contract disputes, primarily in federal court in California and New York.

Highlights

• Mr. Adams represented a large online company that was sued for copyright infringement. He represented the defendant at trial and ultimately they were found liable for damages in an amount that was a fraction of what the Plaintiff sought. After trial, Mr. Adams convinced the court to further reduce damages, vacate an injunction, and deny the plaintiff recovery of any attorney's fees.
• Mr. Adams has been an integral part of teams that have secured numerous favorable settlements on behalf of copyright holders and their heirs.
• Mr. Adams has also successfully represented and defended numerous small and medium-sized businesses and individuals accused of copyright and trademark infringement.

Representative Matters

• Represented and obtained an amicable resolution for defendants in connection with the use of a high-profile celebrities' name and likeness.
• Represented an individual accused of trademark and copyright infringement, as well as defamation, in connection with opening a new business, resolving the case shortly after a successful motion to dismiss.
• Represented a restaurant chain accused of trademark infringement, obtaining a favorable settlement after defeating a motion for a preliminary injunction.
• Represented a charitable trust in connection with claims of underpayment of contractual royalties by an entertainment company, obtaining a favorable settlement.

Selected Publications

• Defending Against Fee Claims in Copyright Cases; Get Ahead, Daily Journal, December 24, 2018

Selected Presentations

• Intellectual Property Litigation: An Introduction, presented to private insurance carrier client, co-presented with Timothy J. Halloran, February 23, 2018

Professional and Community Contributions

• Beverly Hills Bar Association
• California Lawyers for the Arts

Published Appellate and U.S. District Court Decisions

• DC Comics v. Pac. Pictures Corp., 706 F.3d 1009, 1011 (9th Cir. 2013) - Obtained ruling that rulings under California's anti-SLAPP were appealable collateral orders in federal court.
• DC Comics v. Pac. Pictures Corp., 938 F. Supp. 2d 941, 944 (C.D. Cal. 2013) - Won summary judgment in favor of attorney-defendant sued for tortious interference.
• Siegel v. Warner Bros. Entm't Inc., 658 F. Supp. 2d 1036 (C.D. Cal. 2009), 690 F. Supp. 2d 1048, 1050 (C.D. Cal. 2009) - Obtained series of favorable rulings that numerous works by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the co- creators of Superman, were not "works for hire" under the 1909 Copyright Act and that errors in notices of termination under the Copyright Act were "harmless error."
• Ray Charles Found. v. Robinson, 919 F. Supp. 2d 1054 (C.D. Cal. 2013) - Won dismissal of state-law tort claims brought against the children of Ray Charles after they brought notices of termination under the Copyright Act.
• Greg Young Publ'g, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., __ F. Supp. 3d ___ (C.D. Cal. May 1, 2017) - Won summary judgment that copyright infringement plaintiff lacked standing as to numerous works and that the DMCA could apply to the online portions of the defendant's business model.

Academic Distinctions

• Editor, UCLA Law Review
• Chief Submissions Editor, UCLA Entertainment Law Review
• Honors in Film

Pro Hac Vice

• Southern District of New York

SAN FRANCISCO 415-788-1900   |   LOS ANGELES 213-327-3500   |   SACRAMENTO 916-565-0300   |   SEATTLE 206-489-5113