Mass Law Blog
Intellectual property and business litigation, Massachusetts and nationallyWritten by humans
Lee Gesmer’s Mass Law Blog began in 2005, and contains almost 600 posts. The site initially focused on Massachusetts law, but today it follows business and intellectual property law nation-wide. The site is hosted by Gesmer Updegrove LLP, a law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm represents startup and established companies in the areas of litigation, transactions (including financings, mergers and acquisitions), IP rights, taxation, employment law, standards consortia, business counseling and open source development projects and foundations. You can find a summary of the firm’s services here. To learn how Gesmer Updegrove can help you, contact: Lee Gesmer
Oracle v. Google In a Nutshell
Oracle’s copyright case against Google has dragged on for nine years. The case has generated multiple federal district court trials and appellate decisions. Hundreds of thousands of words have been written on the case. Academic careers have been built on it (OK, I’m exaggerating, but not by much). Now that the case is before the Supreme Court a new, even larger audience wants to understand it. However, few people want to struggle through the lengthy court decisions or law review articles. Here...
Supreme Court Will Decide if “generic.com” Trademarks Are Entitled to Trademark Protection
Have you ever used the website booking.com to make a hotel reservation? If you are familiar with this site and I asked whether you thought BOOKING.COM is a brand name or a generic term, what would you say? Odds are you’d say it is a brand name - 75% of people surveyed thought so.Consumers were given a so-called “Teflon survey,” which is widely accepted as valid in trademark litigation. In this type of survey respondents are given a primer on the distinction between the generic or common...
Oracle v. Google Resources Page
Click here to access my Resources Page on Oracle v. Google, currently pending before the Supreme Court.
Dirty Politics – How is This Like Lawyering?
“When they go low, we go high” Michelle Obama “You can't waller with the pigs and not get dirty” Anon As I’ve watched the political events of the last few years I’ve heard each side argue that their side needs to “fight dirty” to match the tactics of the opposing party. I'm not going to voice an opinion on the political issues raised by these arguments, but I've learned one thing from personal experience: if you are an ethical litigator you are likely to be faced with a similar personal...
“Contract, Combination or Conspiracy” – Can Peloton’s Lawsuit Survive the Music Publishers’ Motion to Dismiss?
This is a brief follow-up to my earlier post, Copyright Infringement? Peloton Punches Back With Antitrust. Under Section 1 of the Sherman Act a “contact, combination or conspiracy” in restraint of trade is illegal. However, the Sherman Act says nothing about how much evidence is necessary to file a lawsuit alleging an illegal antitrust conspiracy. In other words, what factual allegations do you need in the complaint to avoid having it dismissed? In lawyer-speak: “what do we need to get into...
A Few Observations From the Ninth Circuit En Banc Argument in Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin
I have a few observations on the Ninth Circuit September 23, 2019 en banc hearing in Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin. Video of the oral argument is embedded at the bottom of this post, and the transcriptions below are mine - I've left out a few words here and there to make this easier to read, but I didn't leave out anything material. Did Skidmore's Attorney Give Away the Case? Quite possibly. Here are the key excerpts from the oral argument. (I'm labeling all of the judges' questions as simply...
This site is hosted by Gesmer Updegrove LLP, a technology law firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. You can find a summary of our services here. To learn how GU can help you, contact:
Lee Gesmer