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 concentrates his practice on domestic and international entertainment transactions including rights acquisitions, development, first look and overall deals, production, licensing, and distribution of motion pictures as well as scripted and unscripted television productions.

He also represents major studios and media companies in connection with their sponsorship and exploitation of music, livestreamed concerts, and live events.

He regularly negotiates a variety of development and production agreements on behalf of studios, including Amazon Studios, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, and TelevisaUnivision in connection with their live action, animated, scripted and unscripted, film and television projects.

Clients often turn to Keith for analysis of complex copyright issues arising in connection with rights acquisitions and related chain of title, including recently representing Amazon in connection with its acquisition of MGM.  

He also serves as counsel to Meta in connection with its projects throughout the world and metaverse involving celebrities, musicians, and sponsorships of concert tours and events.

Professional and Educational Background

Before practicing law, Keith was a co-founder of a digital 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.

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

Previously, Keith was an associate at a national entertainment law firm in which capacity he represented talent and entertainment companies in high stakes copyright infringement disputes. He has appeared before state and federal courts, at both the trial and appellate levels, and has considerable experience with alternative dispute resolution.

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

Experience

Representative Experience

• Represented Amazon in connection with its acquisition of MGM.
• Negotiated on behalf of Amazon 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.
• Counseled Meta in connection with its sponsorship of Oliva Rodrigo’s SOUR Tour, Sean “Diddy” Combs’ BET Lifetime Achievement Award party, and 88rising’s “Head in the Clouds” music festival.
• Counsel to TelevisaUnivision in connection with numerous motion picture and television projects in connection with the launch of its SVOD platform ViX+ including a first look with Salma Hayek’s Ventanarosa Productions.
• Represents Argentinian musician Paulo Londra in connection with producer agreements, guest artist agreements, and remix agreements.
• Negotiated the production services agreements for the LOL: Last One Laughing format on behalf of Amazon Studios for productions in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, and Mexico.
• Represents Amazon Freevee in connection with its slate of scripted and unscripted productions.
• 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 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 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

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

Articles

Memberships

American Bar Association

Beverly Hills Bar Association Entertainment Law Section