Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Partner

Helping businesses build and maximize the value of their brands through thoughtful development, vigilant protection, and strategic monetization has earned Andrea Calvaruso a reputation as a trusted advisor to many in-house teams at leading brands.

Chair of the firm’s Trademark and Copyright practice and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, Andrea combines a business lawyer’s pragmatism, a litigator’s perspective, and an immersive understanding of IP law to help a range of clients develop, manage, leverage, and enforce their trademark and copyright rights in the United States and abroad.

Andrea’s experience navigating every stage in the IP lifecycle doesn’t just create efficiencies for her clients. It also allows her to develop and implement holistic approaches that protect IP assets, increase their value, and minimize risks. As one client declared in Legal 500, Andrea ​“can always be trusted to give commercial and pragmatic advice.”

Each aspect of Andrea’s practice complements the other. She brings a litigator’s issue-spotting and risk-identification acumen to her trademark clearance, prosecution, and contract negotiation efforts. And her substantive knowledge of IP law and appreciation of each client’s unique needs and goals facilitates her effective courtroom advocacy and talent for finding creative, positive resolutions of disputes.

While her clients span a wide range of industries, Andrea is particularly well-versed in IP matters involving the retail, fashion, entertainment, and consumer products industries. She is also the host and organizer of Kelley Drye’s Fashion and Retail Summit, an annual gathering of industry executives and in-house counsel from many of the world’s best-known brands.

As many of Andrea’s clients have international operations, she advises on managing their worldwide trademark portfolios and trademark enforcement programs, including instruction and supervision of litigation and opposition proceedings on a global scale. Andrea also regularly provides advice and representation regarding the evaluation of ownership interests, content and trademark clearance, and IP-related agreements.

A highly effective litigator, Andrea recognizes that ​“winning” a dispute doesn’t mean much if the losses incurred in achieving that victory exceed the benefits. While she is a powerful and persuasive courtroom presence who won’t hesitate to aggressively litigate matters to decision, Andrea also knows that scorched earth strategies usually leave both sides burned. Through intense litigation and tough negotiations alike, Andrea has pursued, defended, and favorably resolved trademark, trade dress, unfair competition, rights of publicity, and copyright cases. Her experience includes advocacy and the resolution of claims in state and federal court, inter partes proceedings before the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), and ICANN proceedings.

Andrea is regularly recognized by her peers for her professional excellence, and she develops close relationships with her clients, serving as both business counsel and an extension of their in-house legal teams. In Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, clients praise her as ​“a zealous advocate who approaches resolutions from a commercial perspective,” ​“smart, reliable, trustworthy, knowledgeable and responsive,” that she ​“understands IP inside out,” and ​“has a dynamic personality and is very good at negotiating through difficult matters.” World Trademark Review noted that ​“her all-encompassing appreciation for trademark law is complemented by a holistic outlook, meaning that she leaves no stone unturned.”