Class 9 Guest Speaker: Jennifer Kelly

We are particularly privileged this coming week to have as our guest Jennifer Lloyd Kelly. Ms. Kelly is IMHO the leading video game law litigator in the world. She is (for the third time) making the trek from San Francisco where she practices at Fenwick & West LLP.

Jennifer’s bio on Fenwick’s website says it all:

“Jennifer Lloyd Kelly focuses her practice on commercial and intellectual property litigation and counseling, with a particular emphasis on copyright, trademark, right of publicity, trade secret, and false advertising disputes for technology companies, and particularly companies in the gaming industry. She is one of the foremost authorities on intellectual property issues pertinent to video games/mobile apps. The Daily Journal named Jennifer as one of the “Top Intellectual Property Attorneys” in California in both 2014 and 2015 and one of the “Top Entertainment Lawyers” in California in 2015, a list that honors the top 50 litigators and dealmakers who are reshaping the movie, music, and game businesses. In 2015, The Legal 500 recognized her as a leading copyright attorney. Also in 2015, Jennifer was named to the San Francisco Business Times’ list of the Most Influential Women in the Bay Area, a list that honors outstanding leaders and role models across a broad range of industries. 

Jennifer has extensive experience handling disputes at all stages and prides herself in winning or resolving cases early. One notable example was her victory for Capcom in Capcom v. MKR, 2008 WL 4661479 (N.D. Cal. 2008) wherein she obtained a dismissal with prejudice, on an initial motion to dismiss, of copyright and trademark counterclaims asserted against Capcom in connection with its zombie-themed video game, Dead Rising (which paved the way for Capcom to release Dead Rising 2). Jennifer’s IP counseling practice includes advising game industry clients during the product development phase, providing advice about how to design games/apps to avoid claims for copyright infringement or violations of other intellectual property rights.

Jennifer regularly authors articles and lectures on intellectual property issues and disputes involving video games and mobile apps, including at the Gamer Technology Law Conference sponsored by Law Seminars International and the Game Business and Legal Affairs Conference sponsored by the Video Game Bar Association. She also guest lectures at courses on video game law at the University of British Columbia Law School and Berkeley Law, and provided legal commentary in a documentary film published on Polygon about game cloning called Cloned at Birth: The Story of Ridiculous Fishing.

Jennifer has also authored amicus briefs on matters within her expertise in a number of high profile litigations, including MGM v. Grokster, one of the most significant copyright cases in decades, and In re: National Security Agency Telecommunications Records Litigation, a consolidation of cases asserting privacy and related claims against the major telecommunications carriers and federal government relating to their unauthorized surveillance of domestic communications.

While in law school, Jennifer served as an extern to the Honorable Vaughn R. Walker in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. During college, she worked as a research analyst at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research in Sacramento, California and completed an internship at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.”

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