Biography
Sony Barari is a Partner at Bartko Pavia LLP and specializes in high-stakes intellectual property, trusts and estates, and other complex commercial litigation. With twenty years of litigation experience, Sony has served as first or second chair in multiple trial victories, handling cases that range from pro bono matters to billion-dollar defenses. With a background in molecular biology and genetics, he previously worked as an in-house attorney for a biotech company and was an employee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where he is a member of the patent bar. He has also litigated and provided counsel to intellectual property clients in various fields, including computer software, language recognition, mobile communications, systems monitoring, and electronics. His work encompasses patent infringement, trademark, trade secret, copyright, cybersquatting, right of publicity, and unfair competition matters. Additionally, he has helped companies protect and monetize their intellectual property portfolios. Sony’s practice also includes high-end trusts and estates, as well as other commercial litigation. He has litigated cases in various federal district courts across the country, as well as appellate matters before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. In his personal life, Sony speaks Bengali, plays guitar, and enjoys spending time on the open road.
Education
- College of William Mary, J.D.
- Harvard University, M.A.
- University of California, Los Angeles, B.S.
Admissions
- State Bar of California
- United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Bar
- United States District Court for the Northern District of California
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
- United States District Court for the Southern District of California
- United States District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Cases
In the landmark Natera, Inc. v. Sequenom, Inc. (N.D. Cal.) case, Sony was lead counsel representing a plaintiff seeking to invalidate a patent relating to non-invasive prenatal genetic testing. He succeeded in obtaining a summary judgment of invalidity on the grounds that the patent – which had sought to claim discoveries relating to the mathematical relationship between maternal and fetal DNA in the mother’s bloodstream – extended to unpatentable laws of nature. Otherwise, the patent had threatened to violate this fundamental tenet of patent law and foreclose an entire field of technology based on the discovery that fetal DNA is present in mappable quantities in maternal blood as early as 10 weeks into pregnancy. The ruling was unanimously affirmed by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in a consolidated appeal, and upon argument and review, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to grant certiorari in Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. et al. v. Sequenom, Inc., 788 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2015), cert. denied 136 S. Ct. 2511 (2016).
In AntiCancer, Inc. v. Carestream Health, Inc. (S.D. Cal.), Sony defended a medical imaging equipment maker against claims of infringement of patents covering the imaging of cancer cells genetically transformed to express green fluorescent proteins (GFPs). Sony’s familiarity with the field and ability to conduct his own primary source scientific research allowed him to identify relevant prior art that resulted in the case settling favorably after a partial summary judgment of non-infringement was granted in favor of his client.
In Genetic Technologies Limited v. Natera, Inc. (D. Del. and N.D. Cal.), Sony was lead counsel defending a genetic testing company against claims of patent infringement by a non-practicing entity. After obtaining a rarely granted transfer of the matter from the plaintiff’s home venue of Delaware to the client’s home in the Northern District of California, 2014 WL 1466471 (D. Del. Apr. 15, 2014), the plaintiff dismissed all claims in a “walk away” agreement without payment.
In Davis v. Electronic Arts (N.D. Cal.), Sony represented the class of all former NFL athletes whose likenesses had been improperly used for the “historic teams” in the popular Madden NFL video game series without their consent. In a decision that has had extensive repercussions (including with the similar suit brought by NCAA athletes against EA sports for misappropriating the likenesses of college athletes without compensation), the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s finding that EA could not claim an “incidental use” or a First Amendment defense to the NFL players’ right-of-publicity claim.
In Netlist v. Diablo (N.D. Cal.), Sony represented plaintiff in a complicated trial of trade secret, patent and trademark claims involving state of the art memory module technology.
In WiAV v. Motorola (E.D. Va.), Sony was a member of a team representing tent-owner Mindspeed Technologies, Inc. against claims of invalidity and unenforceability for eight of its patents related to speech coder technology.
In EBS Automotive Systems et al. v. Illinois Tool Works et al.; Illinois Tool Works v. MOC Products Company et al. (S.D. Cal.), Sony represented Illinois Tool Works in two patent infringement cases involving motor vehicle maintenance equipment.
In International Printer Corp. v. Brother International Corp. et al. (E.D. Tex.), Sony defended the producer of imaging and printing equipment in a patent infringement suit in the Eastern District of Texas regarding systems and methods for monitoring and controlling copy machines.
Sony managed the transition of American Honda’s entire copyright portfolio into digital media and developed an ongoing program for copyright renewal and registration.
Honors & Awards
California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) Award (2022)
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