Kurt G. Calia

Calia practices in the areas of complex civil litigation, patent litigation, intellectual property, life sciences and patent prosecution. He has served as the vice-chair of the trade secrets committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.

He's adapted to the pandemic restrictions. "It's been my longest time without travel in 25 years," he said. "I'm getting used to operating virtually. I spend more time now on video conferences with clients than on phone calls. People are starved for contact with each other, and I like the informality that breeds better connections."

For Covington client GE Aviation, an operating unit of General Electric Co., Calia brought his trade secrets expertise to a dispute over a naval vessel engine service contract. "I was stunned to learn that large aircraft engines are so adaptable that from that core technology they can be used to power warships," he said.

Along with GE's sale of the marine engines go overhaul servicing contracts to keep the propellers turning for the decades that the naval craft are deployed. A San Diego company hoping to land a $70 million servicing contract filed a bid protest when it lost out; Calia came on to represent GE as intervenor when part of the case centered on the San Diego company's attempt to demand access to GE trade secrets embodied in its proprietary engine manuals. Chromalloy San Diego Corp. v. U.S. 1:19-cv-974C (U.S. Ct. of Fed. Claims, originally filed with the General Service Admin. Oct. 10, 2018).

"The plaintiff claimed it was damaged by its lack of access to the manuals," Calia said. "They claimed that the Navy's requirement that bidders have Level Four extreme secret access was unfair. But GE had a huge amount of proprietary technical information developed over decades and asserted that no one should get that information for free. Plus, granting access would violate the Defense Trade Secrets Act."

Agreeing, a U.S. Court of Federal Claims panel granted GE's motion for judgment on the record in November 2019.

In pro bono work, Calia led a Covington team in a successful challenge to the so-called conscience rules issued by federal government health care officials. Representing Planned Parenthood, he contested as arbitrary and capricious the rule allowing health care entities to decline to furnish services including abortion, sterilization or assisted suicide on religious or moral grounds. Planned Parenthood Federation of America v. U.S. Dept. of Health Care and Human Services, 1:19-cv-04676 (S.D. N.Y., filed June 11, 2019).

In November 2019 a federal judge vacated the rule in its entirety, holding it violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. The defendants' appeal is before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The case has gotten a fair amount of attention," Calia said. "Of course, it's always possible that the election outcome may alter what HHS wants to do."

-- John Roemer