Kavya Rallabhandi
Subscribe to Kavya Rallabhandi's PostsKavya Rallabhandi focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation matters. Read Kavya Rallabhandi's full bio.
On the Road Again: Alternative Designs May Impact Trade Dress Functionality Analysis
By Kavya Rallabhandi on May 25, 2023
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded a summary judgment ruling, finding that there were genuine disputes of material fact regarding whether the plaintiff’s alleged trade dress was functional and therefore excluded from trade dress protection. DayCab Co., Inc. v. Prairie Tech., LLC, Case No. 22-5625 (6th Cir. May 11,...
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Out of Tune: Eleventh Circuit Permits Retrospective Relief for Timely Copyright Claims under Discovery Rule
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Mar 9, 2023
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit furthered a circuit split in holding that, as a matter of first impression, a copyright plaintiff’s timely claim under the discovery rule is subject to retrospective relief for infringement occurring more than three years before the suit was filed. Nealy v. Warner Chappell Music, Inc., Case...
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The Alice Eligibility Two-Step Dance Continues
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Mar 2, 2023
Posted In Patents
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion, holding that patent claims directed to abstract ideas and lacking inventive steps that transform abstract ideas into patent-eligible inventions fail the Alice two-step test and are not patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. §...
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Ninth Circuit Extends § 230 Immunity to Domain Name Registrars
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Feb 16, 2023
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of the plaintiff’s suit against a domain name registrar, holding that the plaintiff did not adequately allege that the registrar used the disputed trademark “in commerce” as required by the Lanham Act. The Court also extended immunity under the Communications Decency...
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It’s PRUdent to Refrain from Cybersquatting: ACPA Applies to Domain Name Re-Registration
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Feb 9, 2023
Posted In Technology, Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit joined the Third and Eleventh Circuits in ruling that the re-registration of an infringing domain name with a bad faith intent to profit violates the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Shenzhen Stone Network Info. Ltd., Case No. 21-1823 (4th Cir....
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I Know That Brand . . . Or Do I? Reviewing the Eleventh Circuit’s Likelihood of Confusion Analysis
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Jan 26, 2023
Posted In Trademarks
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed and remanded a district court’s summary judgment ruling finding no likelihood that consumers might be confused as to any relationship between competitors operating in the same state, in similar trade channels and using a mark having the same primary word component. The Court held that...
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When Are Compulsory Copyright Licenses Compulsory?
By Kavya Rallabhandi on Oct 20, 2022
Posted In Copyrights
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit partially affirmed a district court’s summary judgment order holding that audiovisual recordings of live concerts do not fall within the scope of the Copyright Act’s compulsory license provision while purchasers of audio-only recordings obtain a compulsory license in the copyright of the work fixed by their...
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