Intellectual Property

On May 7, 2025, Costamare Inc. (“Costamare”) announced that it has completed the spin‑off of its dry bulk business into a standalone public company, Costamare Bulkers Holdings Limited (“Costamare Bulkers”). Each holder of Costamare common shares received one common share of Costamare Bulkers for every five Costamare common shares held as of the close of business on April 29, 2025. Cravath represented Costamare in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented the underwriters in connection with the $750 million registered debt offering of Keysight Technologies, Inc., a global leader in high value, mission critical electronic design and test solutions based on sales of tools and software used by engineers to design and optimize electronic products across various industries. The transaction closed on April 17, 2025.

On March 17, 2025, PepsiCo, Inc. (“PepsiCo”) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, for $1.95 billion, including $300 million of anticipated cash tax benefits for a net purchase price of $1.65 billion. The transaction also includes an additional potential earnout consideration subject to the achievement of certain performance milestones within a specified period after closing of the transaction. Cravath is representing PepsiCo in connection with the transaction.

Cravath represented the administrative agent, joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners in connection with a $600 million inaugural term loan B facility made available to DraftKings, Inc. for general corporate purposes. DraftKings is a digital sports entertainment and gaming company created to be the Ultimate Host and fuel the competitive spirit of sports fans with products that range across daily fantasy, regulated gaming, and digital media. The transaction closed on March 4, 2025.

On March 4, 2025, Pacific General, a New York‑based private investment firm, announced that it has acquired a majority stake in Lenwich, a premium sandwich brand that has been a staple in New York City since 1989. Lenwich’s founder will retain a significant equity interest in the company and continue to lead Lenwich as CEO. The partnership between Pacific General and Lenwich aims to accelerate Lenwich’s expansion beyond its home market in New York City, extending across the East Coast and the broader United States. Cravath is representing Pacific General in connection with the transaction.

On May 2, 2025, Cravath partners David J. Kappos, John D. Buretta, Noah Joshua Phillips, Sasha Rosenthal‑Larrea, Evan Norris, Michael L. Arnold and Kimberley S. Drexler were named to Lawdragon’s list of “500 Leading Global Cyber Lawyers” in recognition of their work advising clients on incident response and preparation, corporate governance and disclosure matters, investigations and regulatory enforcement, and transactional and competition matters related to data privacy and cybersecurity. The list recognizes “world leaders in privacy, data, security, incident response, and the deals and lawsuits that revolve around all things Cyber.”

On April 28, 2025, Cravath partner David J. Kappos participated in Licensing Executives Society International’s annual conference, LESI2025, which was held from April 27‑29 in Singapore. Dave spoke on a panel entitled “The Future of Smart Cities: Navigating the Intersection of Innovation, Technology and Intellectual Property,” which examined the evolving landscape of smart cities and the roles of intellectual property, innovation and technology in fostering sustainable development.

On April 24, 2025, Managing IP honored Cravath at the publication’s 2025 Americas Awards, which recognize “in‑house teams, firms, individuals and corporations behind the most innovative and challenging IP work of the past year, as well as those driving the international market.” The Firm was honored with an Impact Case of the Year award for its successful representation of client Sherman Nealy in an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled the Copyright Act entitles a copyright owner to obtain damages for any timely filed infringement claim, regardless of when the infringement occurred.

On April 25, 2025, Cravath partners Sasha Rosenthal‑Larrea and Sharonmoyee Goswami participated in Fordham Law School’s 32nd Annual Intellectual Property Law & Policy Conference, which took place from April 24‑25 in New York. The conference convened experts across the public and private sectors to discuss developments in the IP law and policy space. Sasha spoke on a panel entitled “Artificial Intelligence” during a session on copyright law, and Sharon spoke on a panel entitled “Patents & Remedies” during a session on patent law.

On April 5, 2025, Intellectual Asset Management published an article by Cravath partner David J. Kappos entitled “Direction of UK Courts on ‘Interim’ SEP Licences Spells Doom for Innovation‑Based Standards.” The article examines recent UK court decisions regarding standard essential patents (“SEP”) licences and argues that the court’s new practice of forcing SEP owners to grant interim licences to implementers carries negative implications for SEP licensing worldwide, disrupting the functioning of the system.