Kavya Rallabhandi
Subscribe to Kavya Rallabhandi's PostsKavya Rallabhandi focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation matters. Read Kavya Rallabhandi's full bio.
Let’s Not Get It On: Battle of the Greatest Hits
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Nov 14, 2024
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a district court ruling that Ed Sheeran’s 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” does not infringe the copyright on Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On.” Structured Asset Sales, LLC v. Sheeran, Case No. 23-905 (2d Cir. Nov. 1, 2024) (Calabresi, Parker, Park, JJ.) In...
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Due Diligence Deficit Sinks Fraud Claims in Trademark Battle
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Aug 22, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an independent action asserting “fraud on the court” based on the finding that the alleged fraud on the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) should have been uncovered by the exercise of due diligence in a prior action. Marco Destin Inc. v....
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Go Home: No “Prevailing Party” Status After Voluntary Dismissal Without Prejudice
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Aug 15, 2024
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a district court’s ruling that a copyright holder’s voluntary dismissal of its claims did not render the defendant a prevailing party entitled to attorneys’ fees under the Copyright Act. Affordable Aerial Photography, Inc. v. Prop. Matters USA, LLC, Case No. 23-12563 (11th Cir. July 30,...
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Rum Wars: Lanham Act Doesn’t Preclude Judicial Review of PTO Renewal Decisions
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Jun 27, 2024
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s ruling, holding that the Lanham Act does not foreclose an Administrative Procedure Act (APA) action for judicial review of the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) compliance with statutes and regulations governing trademark registration renewal. Bacardi & Co. Ltd. v....
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“Common Sense” Governs Tribal Sovereign Immunity Under Federal Contracting Program
By Kavya Rallabhandi on May 16, 2024
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s ruling, holding that waiver of sovereign immunity for claims related to a federal contracting program means the defendant, a sovereign Indian tribe, can be sued and that the district court failed to consider the valid and enforceable nature of the...
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Badgerow Enforced: District Court Lacks Independent Jurisdiction to Enforce Arbitration Award
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Feb 29, 2024
Posted In Trade Secrets
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s arbitration award because the district court lacked proper subject matter jurisdiction, independent from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), to enforce the award. SmartSky Networks, LLC v. DAG Wireless, LTD, Case No. 22-1253 (4th Cir. Feb. 13, 2024) (Diaz, Thacker, Rubin,...
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Senate Holds Hearing on Legislative Initiative to Address Patent Eligibility
By Christopher M. Bruno and Kavya Rallabhandi on Feb 1, 2024
Posted In Patents
Seeking to undo the current jurisprudence “mess” on the issue of patent eligibility, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property heard testimony on January 23, 2024, on the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) (text here). PERA seeks to address the uncertainty and unpredictable outcomes created by the 2014 Supreme Court of the United States...
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Decoding Algorithms: Structural Sufficiency for Means-Plus-Function Claim Judged From Skilled Artisan’s Perspective
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Oct 19, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reiterated that in the context of construing computer-implemented means-plus-function limitations, if the specification discloses some arguable algorithm, even if a party contends that the algorithm is inadequate, the sufficiency of the purportedly-adequate structure disclosed in the specification must be evaluated in light of the knowledge possessed...
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Almost Paradise? No Authorship for AI “Creativity Machine”
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Aug 31, 2023
Posted In Copyrights
The US District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with the US Copyright Office’s denial of a copyright application that sought to register visual art generated by artificial intelligence (AI) because US copyright law only protects works of human creation. Thaler v. Perlmutter, Case No. CV 22-1564 (D.D.C. Aug. 18, 2023) (Howell, J.) The...
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Hit a Nerve? Obviousness Inquiry Must Address Claims at Issue
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Jul 20, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a Patent Trial & Appeal Board non-obviousness decision, finding that the context of the proposed combination of prior art in the Board’s obviousness inquiry was not directed toward the context of the claim at issue. Axonics, Inc. v. Medtronic, Inc., Case No. 21-1451...
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