Keith G. Adams
550 South Hope Street
Suite 650
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: 213.327.3500
Fax: 213.627.2445
Primary Practice Areas
Civil Litigation
Corporate Law
Admissions
- All Courts in the State of California
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Education
- J.D., University of California, Los Angeles
- B.A., University of California, Berkeley, high honors
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