Jonathan West is a partner in the firm’s Entertainment, Sports & Media Practice.

Jonathan represents both celebrities and companies in connection with personal services agreements, intellectual property licenses, and joint ventures for entertainment productions, advertising campaigns, and the development of signature product lines.

In addition, Jonathan represents investors and buyers of music assets and catalogs, and regularly advises on matters relating to music licensing.

Jonathan also represents studios, media companies, and investors in the licensing, acquisition, and sale of intellectual property assets, as well as the development, production, and distribution of content across a variety of media.

Jonathan has been recognized in Variety's annual Dealmakers Impact Report for his industry-leading transactional work since 2019.

Jonathan’s recent clients and experience includes representing:

Celebrity & Personal Services Engagements

Talent Representation

  • Tom Brady in brand ambassador engagements, intellectual property licenses, and corporate ventures
  • Gwyneth Paltrow in brand ambassador engagements, television series agreements, speaking engagements, and corporate ventures
  • Ryan Seacrest in television and radio engagements as well as corporate ventures
  • Beyoncé in brand ambassador engagements, intellectual property licenses, and corporate ventures
  • Rob Lowe in brand ambassador engagements, agreements for television series, motion pictures, books, and speeches, and corporate ventures
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus in acting and producing agreements for television series and motion pictures
  • Laura Dern in acting and producing agreements for television series and motion pictures
  • Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson) in acting and producing agreements for television series, motion pictures, books, and joint ventures
  • Jenna Elfman in agreements for television series, motion pictures, and endorsements
  • Chef Thomas Keller in endorsement, speaking, and licensing agreements
  • Phil Knight in publishing agreements for his autobiography
  • The Estate of Gene Roddenberry in the licensing of intellectual property and publicity rights, including for all Star Trek programs
  • The Estate of Robert Ludlum in the licensing of motion picture rights to the Jason Bourne series of books
  • Iconic basketball star in a licensing and production arrangement with the NBA
  • Several top-level executives at companies within the entertainment industry in executive employment agreements

Company Representation

  • Techstyle, Inc. in a corporate venture with Rihanna for her Savage x Fenty lingerie line
  • Postmates in a brand ambassador venture with Martha Stewart
  • Postmates in agreements with Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg, Shawn Mendes, and John Legend for advertising campaigns
  • Melco Resorts in a brand ambassador venture with Naomi Osaka
  • e.l.f. cosmetics in a brand ambassador venture with Alicia Keys
  • Major restaurant enterprise in a brand ambassador venture with Oprah Winfrey
  • Hakuhodo, Inc. in commercial endorsement deals with Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Hugh Jackman, among others

Music Industry Representation

  • An investment firm in its acquisition of the music catalog of Dr. Dre
  • HYBE America in its acquisition of Quality Control
  • KKR in its acquisition of the following music catalogs:
    • Kobalt (Kobalt Capital Fund)
    • Diplo/Major Lazer
    • John McVie
    • John Legend
    • ZZ Top
    • 21 Pilots
    • Five Finger Death Punch
    • OneRepublic/Ryan Tedder
  • KKR in its strategic joint venture with BMG for acquisition of music catalogs
  • Northleaf in its strategic alliance with Lyric Capital Group for acquisition of Spirit Music publishing assets
  • Beyoncé in the protection and administration of intellectual property rights for her musical works and performances
  • Ithaca Holdings in its acquisition of Atlas Music Publishing and Big Machine Label Group
  • Ithaca Holdings in its sale (including Big Machine Records) to HYBE
  • Eldridge Investors in its acquisition of the music publishing catalog of The Killers
  • Underwriters for initial public offerings of multiple music-based fitness platforms, including Peloton, F45, and Xponential Fitness
  • Facebook in music licensing for online concerts, including Miley Cyrus live concert special
  • Facebook in production and music licensing for Justin Bieber series
  • Bytedance (TikTok) in content acquisition, talent engagement, and music licensing

Acquisition, Licensing, and Production of Content

Development/ Production/ Licensing Deals

  • Spotify in the exclusive licensing arrangement for the “Call Her Daddy” podcast
  • Spotify in the exclusive first look podcast agreement with J.J. Abrams/Bad Robot
  • Spotify in the rollout of Greenroom, its live audio app
  • Facebook in development, production, licensing, and talent engagement agreements
  • Netflix in development and production agreements for motion pictures
  • Apple, Inc. in licensing and product placement agreements
  • Tencent in development, production, and licensing agreements for scripted productions
  • Kuku Studios in development and production agreements for animated productions, including overall term deal with Netflix
  • Roddenberry Entertainment in the development and production of various television, film, and comic book properties, including producing agreements for the Star Trek universe of programs
  • goop, Inc. in intellectual property licensing and corporate ventures
  • Participant Media in licensing agreements as well as providing general intellectual property advice
  • SEGA, Inc. in a license agreement for the production of a motion picture based on its Sonic property
  • Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Winklevoss Pictures in the development and licensing of film properties
  • International Game Technology (IGT) in branded licensing agreements for their land-based and online gaming machines

*Matter handled prior to joining Latham

Bar Qualification

  • California

Education

  • JD, University of California, Los Angeles, 1999
  • BA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1996
    summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa