Legal Expertise

Josh Geller is a litigation partner and Chief AI Officer at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp. He represents major film and television studios, video game publishers, and content creators in high-profile copyright, trademark, right of publicity, and idea-submission disputes, including successful Ninth Circuit arguments on copyright and the DMCA. He is also MSK's first Chief AI Officer, one of the first such appointments outside the world’s largest law firms. Both sides of his work turn on the same question: how the law, and the practice of law, change as AI reshapes the industries he serves.

AI is transforming the legal profession and the entertainment business at the same time, and Josh works where the two meet. The intellectual property questions at the center of his cases are among those most directly unsettled by generative AI. As an early adopter of AI tools in litigation, he has experienced this shift firsthand.

That hands-on experience is the foundation of his work as Chief AI Officer. He builds AI workflows for litigation and firm-wide deployment, designs AI training for MSK's lawyers and for his clients' in-house legal teams, and advises clients directly as they adopt AI in their own operations. His certification as an AI Governance Professional (IAPP) reflects the governance and risk discipline beneath all of it. That work is collaborative by design, with Josh and his clients working through the operational and strategic questions together to build toward AI adoption that actually holds up.

Josh continues to maintain an active, high-stakes litigation practice. For his film and television clients, he defends copyright infringement and idea-submission claims. He is a leading practitioner in disputes over allegedly infringing trademark uses in creative works—the First Amendment terrain of Rogers v. Grimaldi and the Supreme Court's Jack Daniel's decision—and he is at the forefront of litigation over the protectability of AI-generated content.

Representative Matters

Media, Entertainment and Intellectual Property 

• Currently representing Warner Bros. Discovery in a trademark infringement matter involving the HGTV television series Ugliest House in America. Among other issues, the case involves the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products and whether WBD’s use of the phrase “ugliest house” in the title of an expressive work is protected by the First Amendment.
• Successfully defended Ironmace Co., Ltd., developer of the popular video game Dark and Darker, against copyright infringement claims. Josh argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal and prevailed on an issue of first impression, with the Court affirming the district court’s dismissal of the case and holding that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) does not foreclose forum non conveniens challenges to venue.*
• Regularly represents leading video game publisher Riot Games, Inc. in a wide range of matters, including copyright and trademark cases, contractual disputes, and efforts to monitor and remove infringing content across internet and social media platforms.
• Jerry A. Spolar et al. v. Discovery Communications, LLC et al.: Defeated TRO and secured dismissal on lack of substantial similarity in copyright infringement matter.*
• Shannan Lynette Wynn et al. v. Oprah G. Winfrey et al.: Secured dismissal on lack of substantial similarity in copyright infringement matter.*
• Fifty-Six Hope Road Music Limited, et al v. Jammin Java Corporation: Obtained multi-million dollar trademark infringement award affirmed by the Ninth Circuit.*
• Apple, Inc. v. Mobile Star, LLC: Secured favorable settlement in multi-party trademark and copyright infringement suit against Apple, Inc.*
• Royal Palm Filmworks, Inc. v. Fifty-Six Hope Road Music, Ltd. et al.: Obtained a dismissal with prejudice for a defendant in a dispute involving name and likeness, right of publicity, and copyright claims. The dismissal was affirmed on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.*
• Represented videogame startup in copyright infringement matter and prevailed in Ninth Circuit appeal on issues relating to the DMCA’s notice and takedown procedures.*
• Defeated a temporary restraining order seeking to enjoin the release of a documentary by a major television network.*
• Defeated numerous “idea submission” and copyright infringement cases representing major television networks and producers in both state and federal court.*
• Negotiated termination of unfavorable record deal for up-and-coming singer-songwriter.*

Trial and Arbitration 

• Solo chaired and won an arbitration involving a contract dispute over construction of a solar energy facility, securing a multi-million dollar award for the client.*
• Solo chaired and won a bench trial involving litigation with a securities broker-dealer.*
• Part of a trial team that won a multi-week arbitration in a dispute over the distribution and release of a major motion picture, involving complex issues of film finance and production.*

Other Commercial Disputes 

• Represented numerous consumer products companies in connection with unfair competition and false advertising claims.*
• Negotiated a complex corporate separation involving a film production company with significant intellectual property assets.*
• Represented CEO in dispute over corporate reorganization and IPO.*

*Indicates matters handled prior to joining MSK. 

Honors & Awards

• "Legal Impact Report: Up Next," Variety (2020, 2024)
• "Outstanding IP Practitioner," World Intellectual Property Review Leaders Directory (2025)
• "Ones to Watch," Best Lawyers in America© (2021-2025) 
• "Legal Impact Report," Variety (2026)

Professional, Business and civic Affiliations

• Board Member, Los Angeles Copyright Society 

Other Career Experience

• Partner, Greenberg Glusker LLP 

Headlines

Events & Speaking Engagements