Profile
Based in Los Angeles, director Keith Adams represents individuals and businesses in all phases of civil litigation with a focus on corporate and insurance litigation, intellectual property, and professional liability.
Bringing extensive experience in federal civil litigation, Keith regularly counsels and defends clients in both commercial litigation and intellectual property disputes. He represents a variety of technology companies, as well as companies in the publishing, entertainment, aerospace, manufacturing, retail, restaurant, and fashion fields. He has helped to secure numerous favorable settlements on behalf of copyright holders and their heirs and has represented and defended numerous businesses and others accused of copyright and trademark infringement through summary judgment, trial and appeal. He also acts as outside general counsel to publishing and entertainment companies.
Keith also counsels and defends clients, including law firms, insurance brokers, administrators, and insurers, on professional liability matters. As part of this work, he has particular proficiency in addressing and resolving allegations of insurance bad faith and related claims that arise out of excess verdicts.
Experience
Reported Appellate and U.S. District Court Decisions
- Greg Young Publ’g, Inc. v. Zazzle, Inc., 2017 WL 2729584, 785 Fed.Appx. 417 (2019), 2021 WL 3702005 (2021) – Won summary judgment for the defendant 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. After trial, convinced the Court to reverse its prior position and vacate a permanent injunction and to deny any fee recovery to the plaintiff, obtaining affirmance of those decisions in two successive appeals.
- DC Comics v. Pac. Pictures Corp., 706 F.3d 1009, 1011 (9th Cir. 2013) – Obtained a 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 a 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.
- McDonold v. Superior Court, 2018 WL 4659506 (Cal. App. 2018) – Won ruling that prelitigation communications between an excess insurer and its counsel were privileged against the insured.
Representative Matters
- Represented a prominent law firm that was sued in a complex legal malpractice and bad-faith action arising out of the then-largest personal injury verdict. Obtained a favorable summary judgment ruling that resulted in an almost-immediate settlement.
- Represented technology companies in and successfully resolved numerous disputes arising out of alleged copyright, trademark and other types of intellectual property infringement.
- Represented and obtained summary judgment on behalf of a property owner accused of fraud, resulting in dismissal of all claims on the eve of trial.
- 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.
Affiliations
- Beverly Hills Bar Association
- California Lawyers for the Arts
- Alliance for Children’s Rights
- Volunteer attorney, helping with guardianship petitions and adoptions
Presentations
- “Intellectual Property Litigation: An Introduction,” co-presenter, for private insurance carrier client, February 23, 2018
Publications
- “Defending Against Fee Claims in Copyright Cases: Get Ahead,” The Daily Journal, December 24, 2018
Education
J.D., University of California, Los Angeles
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, high honors