Keith Kelly

Keith Kelly is an associate in the Entertainment, Technology and Advertising Practice Group in the firm’s Century City office.

Areas of Practice

Keith specializes in entertainment law, covering all aspects of global transactions including rights procurement, development, production, licensing, and distribution of movies, documentaries, scripted and unscripted television, and original sports programming. He also advises studios and media firms on music, concert bookings, sponsorships, and live events.

Keith has significant expertise in cross-border dealings and copyright matters, particularly in China and Latin America. He regularly advises clients on intricate copyright issues in rights acquisitions, M&A, catalog sales, chain of title, and copyright termination. He also guides entertainment and technology companies on projects involving generative artificial intelligence and other machine learning technologies.

Additionally, Keith serves as legal counsel to Meta on global initiatives involving athletes, AI, celebrities, musicians, and concert sponsorships.

Professional Background

Before practicing law, Keith was a co-founder of a marketing agency in New York in which capacity he advised musicians, record labels, film and television producers, and technology companies in the creation and execution of global marketing campaigns. He was also active within the independent music industry as a DJ, talent manager, and radio program director.

Keith developed a passion for the Chinese entertainment industry while studying Chinese law at Peking University in Beijing, China, during which period he also worked on cross-border entertainment and intellectual property matters at Sheppard Mullin and at a prominent Chinese law firm.

In his free time, Keith enjoys attending concerts, exploring restaurants, and cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Experience

Representative Experience

• Represented Amazon in connection with its acquisition of MGM.
• Advised Group Artémis in its acquisition of a majority stake in Creative Artists Agency.
• Negotiated on behalf of Amazon MGM Studios in connection with its exploitation of numerous concerts and music specials, including Kanye West’s Free Larry Hoover benefit concert alongside Drake at the Los Angeles Coliseum, The Weeknd’s The Dawn FM Experience, Tyler the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost tour, and Kendrick Lamar’s The Big Steppers Tour in Paris, France.
• Represents Amazon MGM Studios in connection with its sports-related projects.
• Advises Meta in connection with its sponsorships of live events, the creation and exploitation content, and Meta AI initiatives featuring public figures.
• Represents WhatsApp in its global partnerships with athletes, sports teams, and influencers.
• Represents the U.S. subsidiary of a predominant Chinese media company in connection with a multi-year output deal with a major U.S. studio.
• Advises a leading with technology and consumer audio products manufacturer with various music copyright issues.
• Counsel to TelevisaUnivision in connection with numerous motion picture and television projects in connection with its SVOD platform ViX+ including a first look with Salma Hayek’s Ventanarosa Productions.
• Represented Argentinian musician Paulo Londra in connection with producer agreements, guest artist agreements, and remix agreements.
• Represents Amazon Freevee in connection with its slate of scripted and unscripted productions.
• Negotiated the production services agreements for the LOL: Last One Laughing format on behalf of Amazon MGM Studios for productions throughout the world, including in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico.
• Negotiated the production services agreement for the Amazon Prime Day Show featuring performances by Billie Eilish, H.E.R., and Kid Cudi.
• Counseled Universal Pictures in connection with theatrical director, writer, producer, and rights agreements.
• Advised Amazon MGM Studios in connection with its acquisition of feature films, including Lena Dunham’s Catherine, Called Birdy and the British musical entitled Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
• Production counsel to Amazon MGM Studios in connection with Don’t Make Me Go (John Cho, Mia Isaac, and Kaya Scodelario), and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
• Counsel to The Los Angeles Opera.

Honors

Southern California Rising Star, Super Lawyers, 2023-2024

Top Entertainment Attorney, Variety's Legal Impact Report, 2023

Articles

"Computer Love: Beijing Court Finds AI-Generated Image is Copyrightable in Split with United States," AI Law and Policy, 12.2023

"Chinese Film Laws: An Unintended Driver of Intellectual Property Infringement," ABA’s Entertainment and Sports Lawyer, 05.2019

Speaking Engagements

• Moderator, “How AI is Reshaping the Entertainment Industry: An Insider View from the US and China,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 10.2024
• Moderator, “What You Need to Know About Entertainment Law in Asia,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 07.2024
• Presenter, “Copyright Issues & the U.S. Entertainment Industry’s Response in the Era of Generative AI,” Beijing Culture and Entertainment Law Society’s Annual Rule of Law Forum, 03.2024
• Moderator, “What You Need To Know About Film/TV Production In Mexico,” Beverly Hills Bar Association, 12.2023

Memberships

Executive Committee, Beverly Hills Bar Association’s Entertainment Law Section

Audiovisual Committee, The Copyright Society

Syllabus Committee, USC’s Institute on Entertainment Law and Business